Lijanhorn
by Kaifeuille
Summary: Ginny's sixth year starts with a bang. After an exciting summer, will she be able to deal with the challenges of her destiny? Can this author write summaries? G/D, canon only through the fifth book.
1. The Sorting

**Note for 2008:**** I am really starting work on this thing again. I got wrapped up in my original fiction, and then I just kind of stopped writing. For two years. Or more. I'm not even sure why I'm back. My notes for what the plot was supposed to be make very little sense to me…I never updated them since the initial outpouring of (frequently bad) ideas. Since I apparently feel compelled to finish this…here I am.**

**Disclaimer: **I hereby disclaim. I am not J.K. Rowling.

**Full Summary: **Ginny Weasley changed over the summer. She didn't suddenly become a supermodel, but her outlook on life changed after an internship with Charlie in Romania. She returns to school only to find a series of surprises that await her. She is charged with tasks she'd rather avoid, and finds herself thrown amidst a nest of snakes. (And here your oh-so-beloved author gives up on summarizing this. Again.)

**Warnings**: Changed the rating since a couple years ago. Hah. Sex, substance use, violence, etc. If you're a homophobe…don't read this! This is not primarily a slashfic and I'm not going to be extremely blatant, but there will be slash. Deal. Or don't read. For obsessive G/D shippers, there's a special warning for you: it'll be slow to start (it will irritate you.) with the two of them, but it shall happen, and it will be central to the plot.

**Pairings: **Ginny/Draco, Hermione/Ron, Colin/Dean, Ginny/Blaise, Daphne/OC

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Ginny stomped her foot impatiently. She glared up the stairs, "Ron! Get your ass down here! I want to be at Hogwarts today, not explaining in a week to McGonagall how my idiotic dolt of a brother caused me to miss the train!"

A muffled grunt came from upstairs, and Ginny rolled her eyes. She was excited to go back to Hogwarts- she hadn't seen any of her friends over the summer because she had done something of an internship with Charlie in Romania. Self-consciously she smoothed out her skirt. Spending time with her favorite brother and all of his friends had done a lot for her. She was no longer as shy as she had been, and she wasn't afraid to speak her mind around people other than her family anymore. Charlie's friends had been a bit…rough- they were dragon trainers, after all. Beyond that, though, they had been a bit crude. Or so 'old Ginny' had thought. She hadn't completely reinvented herself like people did in books, but she had changed. She carried herself with more confidence, and she wasn't as guarded and reserved around others.

Personally, she thought it had been a good change. Her youngest older brother, however, had been furious when she had come back. Lucky for her, most of that anger was directed at Charlie, as he blamed him for corrupting his little sister. It wasn't like she had been a complete innocent; she thought angrily, she had just been quiet! Leave it to Ron to blow up when his little sister finally started to be independent.

"Ahem."

Ginny looked up; startled when Ron cleared his throat- she hadn't heard him come down. Shaking her head bemusedly, she stalked past him to where Fred and George were waiting outside. The twins had had quite a success over the past year with their joke shop, and had bought themselves a muggle car. "Hey there, Ginbug," Fred said, "We thought you'd never make it!"

Ginny glared at her brother. He _knew_ she hated that name! "It wasn't me that caused the hold up! _That_," she gestured over at Ron, "Useless sod took forever!"

Ron gave his sister a withering look; "At least I didn't become a whore over the summer!"

Ginny blanched. He must have really gotten up on the wrong side of the bed today. "At least I didn't become an asshole overnight!" she shot back.

"Uh huh. I had a long talk with Charlie last night," Ron said coldly, "via this useful little thing called the Floo network…. you might have heard of it, hmm? Anyways…while I do blame him for not stopping you, he made it clear that you were quite the slut this summer!"

Ginny felt her face burning, and it wasn't from embarrassment. "HOW DARE YOU! CHARLIE WOULD NEVER CALL ME A SLUT, UNLIKE SOME BROTHERS OF MINE!" She took a deep breath. Charlie had probably just told Ron that she hadn't been forced into doing anything she didn't want to, and he translated that into 'my sister was a promiscuous whore this summer.' Still…she couldn't help but feel a little betrayed. Meanwhile, the twins were watching with identical amused expressions on their faces as their younger siblings fought.

"WELL AT LEAST ONE OF YOUR BROTHERS ISN'T DELUSIONAL AND IS TRYING TO PROTECT YOU!" Ron bellowed back, his face purpling with rage.

Before Ginny could shriek anything in return, Fred stepped forward, "Ron. In the car. Now. All of us have Ginny's best interests at heart, never accuse us of anything else," he said coldly. Ron paled a little; he just realized he had said that Fred, George, and Bill were poor brothers. And Fred had never taken that tone of voice with him before. He nodded meekly and got in the back seat of the car. Fred smiled wanly at Ginny, mouthing, "It'll be O.K.," and motioned for her to sit in front.

Ginny smiled back gratefully, and took her seat. Fred sat in back with Ron, and George drove. Leaning against the window, Ginny sighed. She had thought all of her brothers more or less shared Ron's sentiments, only less vehemently. But, unless she was mistaken, Fred, and by association, George, was okay with how she had changed over the summer. She winced. She wasn't really a slut…not at all. She had had some fun, sure, but…she sighed again. Fine. By her brother's standards, she had been a slut. And a slut by a good many of the Gryffindors' standards, as well.

Damn…that was one thing she wasn't looking forward to. She had never felt like she fit with all the other Gryffs…and this summer had only served to accentuate their differences. Actually, she thought bitterly, the main reason she didn't want to go back had to do with what happened last year, anything else was just an excuse.She thought back to her first year…when she had been sorted. The Sorting Hat had taken the longest time to place her, and when it finally did, it had seemed disappointed with its choice. But the Gryffs wouldn't bug her again this year…

Absently she patted her purse. She hadn't told anyone yet, but she had received a letter from McGonagall stating that she was to be moved up into 7th year Defense Against the Dark Arts and Transfiguration. She had thought it odd that she wasn't being moved up in Care of Magical Creatures, which was her best class, by far. She was equally shocked when she opened her second letter, from the Headmaster himself, which stated bluntly that she was to be assisting the new Care of Magical Creatures teacher, and would be re-Sorted this year. The only justification for this rare event was that '_this year will hold events unknown to even me, and it is best if no one, including myself, tries to hinder them in their course.'_ She rolled her eyes yet again: basically, the letter had said that she was being re-Sorted, and Dumbledore didn't know why, but he was authorizing it. Of course, she knew the real reason for the re-Sorting. Just like most of Gryffindor did. Well…she wouldn't have to deal with them, at least. A new House, a new start, she thought happily. She'd still have to see the Gryffindors, of course…hell, she was still friends with some of them…but she wouldn't have to see any she didn't want to very often. She smiled a little at that: it sounded like the Gryffindors were a species of wild animals instead of a House at Hogwarts.

She wondered who the new Care of Magical Creatures teacher would be. Hagrid had left, permanently, last year. Nothing official had been said, but it was widely accepted among the students that the reason for his departure had something to do with the impending final battle between Harry and Voldemort. She snorted. Voldemort-Voldemort-Voldemort, she chanted mentally. Stupid Tom Riddle who had taken her innocence away, and would take the innocence of many others before he was finally finished. He had taken away her blissful ignorance **and** almost killed her. He would have come back to his full powers and killed her if it weren't for Harry.

She smiled affectionately at the thought…Harry: the reasonable brother she had never had. She had long since gotten over her crush- if only she could get the rest of the school to see. Her smile turned bitter- not like it'd matter, what with her over-protective brother and Harry glaring at any male who so much as glanced in her general direction.

Ginny was so engrossed in her thoughts that she paid no attention to the sullen atmosphere of the car. She would have gone on not noticing if it weren't for the fact that they arrived, quite suddenly, at King's Cross.

"C'mon you two," George said, a tone of forced brightness in his voice. The twins helped them unload all of their stuff from the trunk onto a luggage trolley, and they headed towards Platform 9 and ¾ in silence.

Ginny breathed in deeply once they went through the barrier. It always smelled so…welcoming. Her eyes lit upon a familiar form, and she squealed with delight, "Colin!" she cried, and immediately ran over and engulfed her friend in a hug, "I haven't seen you in ages!"

Colin was beaming. He had been talking to Dean when she had arrived. A thoughtful expression crossed his face, and he pushed Ginny to arm's length, "My, my, my," he said, his eyes twinkling, "You've grown."

Any other guy would have gotten himself in trouble with the way he was leering at her. But not Colin. She put on her best innocent angel face, "You think?"

Colin smiled again, "In all seriousness Gin…you look great."

Ginny blushed. A compliment was a compliment. It was then that she noticed the jealous looks Dean was giving her, and her eyes widened, "Oh Colin…is there a special someone you haven't told me about?" When his face remained blank, she raised her eyebrow and nodded almost imperceptibly in Dean's direction.

"How'd you know?" Colin said, looking…surprised. But not offended, giving Ginny confirmation, though she didn't really need it.

"Oh…honestly Colin! I'm your best friend! And I'm not daft! How would I not know?"

"Uh…well then…we weren't really planning on going public," Colin said, blushing.

Dean, who had remained silent up to this point, spoke up, "You aren't planning on telling anyone, are you?"

Ginny rolled her eyes- an action she seemed to be doing a lot of lately, "Not if you guys don't want me to. Ugh…I'll talk to you guys on the train. Ron looks like he's about to murder the two of you for speaking to me. Y'know," she started thoughtfully, "If you guys told him you weren't, well…interested in girls, he might lay off a bit. I'll leave you with that thought!" she said, and headed back to where her three brothers stood. Apparently the other two members of the wonder trio hadn't shown yet.

"Alright…Fred, George," she said, embracing each brother in turn, "I'll see you guys first Hogsmeade trip, right?"

"It's a date," George said, smiling.

"Then," she shrugged, "I'm off!" She started walking away, before turning impulsively and calling out, "Oh…and tell-mom-that-I-got-a-letter-from-Dumbledore-and-I'm-being-moved-up-in-some-classes-and-being-re-Sorted-bye!" She dashed towards the train before any of the three could say anything. She immediately regretted telling Ron that- now she would have to avoid him, Harry, and Hermione for the rest of the train ride.

She walked through most of the train before finding an unoccupied compartment towards the back of the train. She sat down, and drifted off to sleep.

---------

"Aren't you a little unclothed for a Gryff?"

Ginny was shaken from her rest by the biting voice of none other than…well…someone she didn't know. From the tone of voice, she assumed it was a Slytherin. Opening her eyes, she responded, "And aren't you a little over dressed for a snake?"

To her surprise, the other girl laughed, "So the littlest Weasel has claws…touché!" As if sensing that Ginny didn't know who she was, "I'm Pansy, by the way."

Ginny couldn't help herself, "Pansy Parkinson?" She did a double take. All she remembered of Pansy was that she seemed to constantly be following around Malfoy, and that she looked like a pug.

Pansy laughed again, "The very one."

Despite the fact that the Slytherin was being fairly nice, Ginny's usual back-to-school good mood had been soured by Ron's sudden change of attitude towards her, "As Malfoy's bitch, shouldn't you be following him around, not wasting your time here with a mudblood-loving Weasley?"

A look of hurt, confusion, surprise, and amusement crossed Pansy's face. "I s'pose I deserved that," the Slytherin said wryly, and sat down. "Actually…Draco and I are just good friends. Our parents had originally arranged a marriage between us, but they cancelled it because they were getting scared of Draco…" she trailed off. "I shouldn't have said that…"

Ginny felt like her jaw was going to unhinge itself from the rest of her face. Here was Pansy, a Slytherin, talking civilly with her! Not only that, but said Slytherin seemed to be speaking openly! At Ginny's look of shock, Pansy laughed again, "I know, I know…what the hell am I doing talking to you, eh? Well," her tone changed, "Actually, the news of your re-Sorting is all over the train. Especially since you've been moved into a few 7th year classes."

Ginny's eyes flashed: had Ron gone and told every living person he could? "Oh," was all she managed to get out.

"Besides…please don't tell anyone, the Dark L- Voldemort killed my parents this summer," she said softly, "And I- I had to re-evaluate who I could trust. Us Slytherins…we're like one big family. A lot of us think our parents have made a mistake in following him," she said bitterly, "And they've fucked up our lives by doing so."

Finding her voice, Ginny spoke up, "Um…that's all very nice…but why are you telling me? Why are you trusting me with your House's secrets?"

"Oh?" Pansy seemed taken aback, "Didn't you know? It's basically a given fact that you'll be Sorted into Slytherin…I mean; Gryffindor and Slytherin are polar opposites. Its not like Dumbledore would have you re-Sorted if he thought you'd become more Ravenclaw-ish or Hufflepuff-ish…if he did that, Granger would have been put in Ravenclaw her 2nd year…that girl studies way much more than is healthy," Pansy said, shaking her head, "So I was chosen to come approach you…kind of ease you into your new house."

Ginny's mind was reeling…she was a Slytherin? It wasn't official, but Pansy seemed pretty sure. Besides, she reasoned, it wasn't like she was Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff material… "Thanks, I think." She gave Pansy a half-smile, "Its just really odd talking to a Slytherin without hexing them. Ooh! We're almost there! I've got to change," she said apologetically. "I'll see you later?" she said questioningly.

"That you will. By the way," she said, eying Ginny up and down, "I like the clothes!"

Ginny grinned, "Thanks." In truth, the complement meant a lot to her. She was wearing a plain jean miniskirt, knee-high black boots, and a forest green camisole. It was just then that she realized she had unconsciously dressed in some of the colors of her new House. Her new House…she liked the sound of that: Ginevra Molly Weasley; Slytherin. She picked out a plain black robe and threw it on over the top of her outfit. Her internship with Charlie had paid pretty well, and she had invested that money in a broomstick and new clothes. Lots of new clothes. Twirling around experimentally, she nodded to herself, and sat down to read for the last few minutes.

She had, of course, already skimmed through most of her schoolbooks. She wouldn't pretend that she was a mini-Hermione who memorized every book that she came into contact with, or even read them very thoroughly. Magic just came easily to her…she loved the subtleties of potions, the bluntness of spells, the airy quality of most charms, and, most importantly, she loved the creatures. She had always loved animals. Not in the sense of bringing home a new pet every week, but in the appreciation of their nature.

She stretched as the train slowed, then stopped. Hopping off, she searched for Colin and Dean. She had let them have their alone time on the train but she fully intended on harassing them in the carriage ride up to the castle. She made her way over to the pair, who were waiting at on of the carriages, waving at her. A faint smile on her lips, she nimbly leapt into the carriage.

"Gi-inny," Colin said whiningly, "Why didn't you tell us you were getting re-Sorted? Now we won't be able to spend time together in the Common Room together!"

"I'm sorry," she said, and meant it, "I didn't mean to tell Ron and the twins either…it just kinda slipped out…" She frowned, "And, thanks to a certain brother of mine, the whole frickin' school knows!"

"Eh…don't worry about it," Colin said reassuringly, "Besides…if you don't mind me saying so, you've never really seemed at home with a lot of the Gryffs."

"Yeah," Ginny said shortly. Truth be told, beyond Colin, Hermione, and Harry, she wouldn't really miss any of the Gryffindors. After the whole 'set-an-angry-snake-on-the-school' episode of her first year, most of the Gryffindors had carefully avoided her. Some had been downright cold to her…when the wonder trio wasn't around, that is. Up until the end of last year, that is.

"So," Dean said, changing the subject, "Who do you think the new Care of Magical Creatures teacher is?"

"I dunno," Ginny said, seizing upon the new topic, "But I'm apparently going to be assisting them." She shrugged, "This I haven't told anyone…I'm not taking the class this year; I'm assistant to the professor, instead!"

"Cool," Colin said, impressed. "Just out of curiosity, what classes were you moved up in?"

"Only Transfiguration and Dada…I'll still be in all my other classes with the 6th years…and here we are," she said as the carriage rolled to a stop. Hopping out, she patted the Thestral closest to her on the nose before heading up to the castle, tailed by Dean and Colin.

"Miss Weasley," McGonagall's voice range out above the clamor of the other students, "If you would be so kind as to follow me, I believe we have a few things to discuss."

Ginny gulped, feeling her confidence leave her for a minute. Her head down, she followed her head-of-house…soon to be ex-head-of-house, she reminded herself, into the school. After walking in silence for a few moments, Ginny realized with a start that they were outside the Headmaster's office.

"Lollipop," McGonagall said in a clipped tone. Without another word, she motioned for Ginny to enter the Headmaster's office, and left.

Squaring her shoulders, Ginny entered. She hoped that Dumbledore would be kind enough to enlighten her as to why she was being re-Sorted, but, knowing the cryptic Headmaster, she sincerely doubted it.

"Ah, Miss Weasley…so good to see you," the headmaster said, smiling, "Please…sit down. I trust you had a good summer?"

Ginny nodded, tapping her foot impatiently. She knew the headmaster hadn't called her here to discuss her summer. "Yes…I stayed with Charlie in Romania."

"Yes, yes...I know," Dumbledore said, "I see that you're impatient, so I'll cut down to the point rather quickly. I know you're wondering what has possessed me to resort such a fine Gryffindor as yourself, and, I must say…I'm not entirely certain on the matter. It does not, as you have probably been thinking, have much to do with the incident last year," he cleared his throat, "It has come to my attention that you should be re-Sorted- a test of sorts, you see. And that is all I may say on the matter. It is entirely possible, Miss Weasley, that you will simply be sorted into Gryffindor again. However…that is…unlikely. You will need to meet with you're new Head of House to discuss your schedule after the Sorting Ceremony," Dumbledore nodded to himself, "Now, I do believe our presence is required in the Great Hall, m'dear. The Sorting Ceremony has already begun!"

With that, the headmaster gently guided Ginny out of his office. She had been uncharacteristically quiet, trying to assimilate the fact that Dumbledore wouldn't tell her why she was being re-Sorted. Of course, Dumbledore had said that it was possible she would stay in Gryffindor, but she agreed with the Slytherins. She would probably end up in Slytherin, the house exactly opposite of all that her family valued. Well…it wouldn't be that bad. Pansy had been friendly- in fact; the Slytherins seemed to have a special bond, now that she thought of it. She brightened at the thought: they were kind of like a big family, always looking out for each other.

After walking in silence, Ginny and Dumbledore reached the Great Hall in time to here the Sorting hat call out "Hufflepuff!" for a first year. Dumbledore smiled reassuringly, and gestured for Ginny to join the small amount of unsorted first years. Resolutely, Ginny joined the much shorter, yet equally as nervous first years at the end of the Great Hall. It wasn't long until the last first year had been sorted, and McGonagall called for her to take her place, once again, on the stool. Trepidations mounting, she roughly jammed the hat on her head.

"_Nervous, eh?"_ the hat said tauntingly.

"_Of course!"_ Ginny snapped mentally at the hat, _"Can't you just get it over with?"_

"_Aw…very well. Let's see,"_ the hat switched to a business tone of voice, _"Bravery from Gryffindor, compassion from Hufflepuff, intelligence and ingenuity from Ravenclaw, and, of course, a certain sly nature and a touch of darkness from Slytherin…what to do…"_

Ginny frowned. She didn't like how the Sorting Hat had so quickly categorized her- of course, that was what it was supposed to do, but it was still unsettling.

"_You would do well in all of the Houses- perhaps especially Slytherin, since you are feeling so rebellious…"_

She frowned again. True…she was being rebellious, but she didn't like the word. It seemed so…cliché. Oh look…there's the youngest Weasley…she's in her _rebellious_ stage.

"_Very well…it seems there is no other choice," _the Hat said, sounding oddly…_happy_ as it reached its decision.

Ginny's heart leapt. As she thought about it, Slytherin was becoming more and more appealing. _Just announce it_, she thought impatiently.

"_As you wish,"_ the Hat said gleefully, and then bellowed, "LIJANHORN!"


	2. Buzzing Bumblebees

**Disclaimer:** Not madly rich and British.

_LIJANHORN!?!_

Ginny tore the Sorting Hat off of her head, her mind reeling. The Great Hall was silent. Utterly and completely silent. Lijanhorn? Was this some sort of a joke? Still sitting on the stool, Ginny tried to remain calm. All of the students were just staring at her…the silence was overwhelming, and, with a terrified yelp, she jumped up and ran from the hall.

She didn't know _where _she was running to, she just knew she had to get out of _there._ Would they kick her out of Hogwarts? Would she be some sort of poor ridiculed soul for the rest of her life? Would they make her return to Gryffindor? And, most importantly, why, oh _why_ had Dumbledore insisted she be re-Sorted?

She stopped suddenly, panting, to get her bearings. She had just run blindly, and was startled to find herself outside Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. The awful memories of her first year came flooding back, threatening, for just a moment, to beat back her other thoughts.

The moment passed, and, squaring her shoulders, she walked in. At least no one would think to look for her here…she hadn't returned here since, well, her first year at Hogwarts.

Myrtle swooped down from her perch near the window, and looked Ginny over. No tears, no blubbering, no complaining; she simply said, "You're back."

"Er…yes?" Ginny said uncertainly. She had never really been comfortable around Myrtle in her first year, for obvious reasons, and she didn't know how to act around her now. From what she had gathered from the Wonder Trio, Myrtle was easily ignored- getting upset over some small thing and then running away to fuss.

"You did horrible things last time you were here," Myrtle said solemnly, "You interrupted my crying sessions, and you threw a book at my head!"

"I…did?" She frowned, not remembering that event. Of course, much of her first year was a blur to her, both from her willful suppression of memories, and from Tom's magic. Ah yes. Tom. She remembered his face very clearly. She shook her head; apparently Myrtle had been speaking.

"…And so, Harry came and found the book. Harry Potter…he's a lovely thing, isn't he? Well-"

"Er…sorry Myrtle, I wasn't listening…" She cringed as soon as the words were out of her mouth. Myrtle was apt to run off and start crying at anything.

Myrtle looked startled, but waved her opaque hand dismissively, "Don't- don't worry about it." She paused at Ginny's surprised look, "I know, I know…I've spent nearly the past fifty years being…well, a brat. Ghosts can change and mature too, right?"

"If you say so," Ginny said skeptically, looking at her askance. She started abruptly, remembering what had brought her here. Dumbledore and his damnable Sorting Hat. "Um…I just came here to get away from…everyone, but I may as well ask you…"

"Ask me what?"

"Huh? OH…didn't realize I was talking. Well…have you ever heard of Lijanhorn?"

"No…no, can't say that I have."

"Oh."

"Why?"

Ginny frowned, and then shrugged. What harm would it do to tell Myrtle? "Well…this-summer-I-got-a-letter-from-Dumbledore-saying-I-was-being-re-Sorted-and-then-when-I-got-re-Sorted-the-stupid-Hat-just-called-out-Lijanhorn-and-there-isn't-a-House-_called_-Lijanhorn-so-I'm-afraid-they'll-kick-me-out-of-Hogwarts-or-send-me-back-to-the-Gryffindors," she blurted out.

"Oh." There was a pause, "I see."

"Yeah."

Myrtle scratched her head, an odd gesture for a ghost, and said, "Er…have you talked to Dumbledore? I think that's kind of the obvious thing to do…"

"He's the one that made me get re-Sorted in the first place," Ginny said plaintively, feeling like an eight-year old, "Why would I go to _him_?"

Myrtle smiled tolerantly, "If I, of all people…er, ghosts, can mature, I think you can at least give Dumbledore the chance to talk to you!"

Oh where was the Myrtle of yesteryear? The one who was able to make even the most miserable person feel good about themselves, because, at least they weren't _that_ pathetic!? Ginny wasn't sure she like this new Myrtle…the one who was distinctively _not_ moaning. She sighed, and rolled her eyes, "Fine. I'll go talk to Professor Dumbledore. Happy?"

The ghost smiled slowly, and nodded. "You will…what I mean is…well, will you come back and visit me?" Myrtle asked hopefully.

Ginny grinned, "Of course! Unless I get kicked out, that is," she added darkly. "Well…I'm off to my doom! I'll be back…hopefully…"

An uneasy smile on her face, Ginny left Myrtle's bathroom. She had to admit; the 'new' Myrtle was good company. She had been reasonable and decent to talk to. Nothing like what little she remembered of the ghost. She sighed. There was nothing left to do now but go up to Dumbledore's office and wait until the feast was over…it shouldn't last _too_ much longer…

After getting lost twice on her way to the Headmaster's office, a fact that never ceased to amaze her…she had been going to this school for years, and she could _still_ get lost, even when the place she was going was on the same floor, she glared at the statue, trying to remember what the password had been. "Er…lollipop!" she said triumphantly, and waited while the statue moved to reveal a staircase. Biting her lip nervously, she headed up the stairs, and was about to know when she heard the Headmaster's voice.

"Miss Weasley, do come in."

Opening the door, Ginny looked around the Headmaster's office for the second time that day, "Professor Dumbledore," she greeted him, "the feast…?"

"Ended nearly fifteen minutes ago whilst you wandered around the school," he said, smiling, "I know why you're here, and I've spoken with the Sorting Hat. It insists that this is not a joke, and that you are, indeed, the first member of the House of Lijanhorn."

She nodded, more than a little confused, "Er…no offense, professor, but…how? I've never heard of it before, and there were only the four founders of Hogwarts…and they each had only one House named after them. And there are only the four tables in the Great Hall…" She trailed off, realizing as she spoke, that her 'reasoning' was useless.

"Yes…yes, I have to admit, it was a surprise to me as well. You see, I've never heard of Lijanhorn, either," he admitted, "I can only assume that you will learn about your new House over the course of the year."

Ginny had been nodding the entire time Dumbledore had been speaking, and stopped suddenly when she realized it. "That's…nice and all…but…what about my classes? And Quidditch!"

Dumbledore smiled, "I'll meet with the other Professors, and I'm sure that they'll work you into their other classes. Am I correct in my assumption that you'd like to avoid the Gryffindors during classes?"

"Yes," she answered without thinking, "Well…no. But…yes," she gestured helplessly, "I'd like to avoid my brother, if that's possible…it'd be nice to have a class or two with Colin, but," she nodded decisively, "Yes, I'd like to avoid most Gryffindors."

"Very well…we'll do what we can. Sadly…as you are the only member of you House, you won't be able to play in any of the formal Quidditch matches. Though, I'm certain one of the teams will let you practice with them, if you like."

Ginny, whose face had fallen at first, brightened when she heard that she'd still have the chance to play. She played Quidditch for fun, not for the glory of her House, anyways. She didn't want to practice with the Gryffindors, that was certain, but she could play with Hufflepuff, or Ravenclaw, or Slytherin. Her heart sank. For just a moment today, she had seen a side of the Slytherins that she had never seen before. Sure, they were still dark and all of that stuff, but Pansy had seemed, well, nice. And now that she wasn't a Slytherin, as the school had expected, the Slytherins were sure to be twice as cruel to her as they had been last year.

"-Weasley? Miss Weasley? You zoned out there for a minute," he cleared his throat, "As I was saying, there's a spare room on the fourth floor that will do nicely for your accommodations until we can find something more permanent. Or find out more about your new House. If you would follow me…"

Ginny found herself nodding again, inwardly berating herself for zoning out. It wasn't a good habit to get into. Wordlessly, she followed Dumbledore out of his office, down the stairs, across the second floor, and up two flights of stairs to the fourth floor. There was a huge mirror on her left, and she vaguely remembered the twins mentioning a caved in passageway out of Hogwarts. Dumbledore stopped in front of a dusty painting, and she peered at it, making out the figure of a sleeping…child?

"Ariana…Ariana," Dumbledore was saying softly, "Wake up." Dumbledore took out his wand and mumbled something and the painting became dust-free, revealing itself to be a portrait of a sleeping child from this century, slumped down on a couch. The child, who looked to be no older than seven, yawned and looked at Dumbledore through bleary eyes.

"Oh…hi Albus," Ariana said, trying valiantly to fight down a yawn, "You don't normally come visit now," she said, sounding confused. Just then, she noticed Ginny standing behind Dumbledore, "Hi…I'm Ariana. Who are you?"

"Ginny Weasley…"

"Nice to meet you," Ariana said formally, straightening in her seat, "Do you have a pony with you?"

Ginny was taken aback by the odd question, and looked at Dumbledore for guidance. Dumbledore, chuckling, responded, "No…Miss Weasley does not have a pony with her. Ariana, how would you like to have Miss Weasley stay in the room behind your painting?"

Ariana smiled, "She would see me every day, right?" Dumbledore nodded, "Then I'd like it…it gets lonely here," she said sadly.

A look of sadness crossed Dumbledore's face, but it was quickly banished by a smile, "She can move in tonight…all you'd have to do is remember her password."

"I can do that. As long as it isn't too long. Or in Latin. I don't understand Latin," she said importantly.

Ginny smiled, taking a liking to Ariana almost immediately. The child was so sweet! "Well then, Ariana…how about we make the password…um…" Ginny's brow furrowed as she tried to think of a decent password. Finally, rolling her eyes, "Ugh. Let's just make it 'buzzing bumblebees' for now. I can't think of anything else," she said apologetically.

Dumbledore had an amused expression on his face, "Very well. Do you think you can remember that?" Ariana nodded solemnly, and Dumbledore turned to address Ginny, "The house-elves will bring up your belongings later. You will be excused from classes for tomorrow so that your schedule can be worked out. I would suggest that you take your spare time to meet with our new Care of Magical Creatures teacher who'll be arriving early tomorrow morning. Goodnight, Miss Weasley," he said, and walked away, leaving Ginny to nod dumbly at his retreating back.

"Well then, Ariana…buzzing bumblebees it is. Good night, and sorry for waking you," she added as the portrait swung away to reveal her new lodgings. Stepping in, Ginny was…impressed. The prevalent color scheme seemed to be soft blues and greens. The walls were blue-green…similar to the color of the Mediterranean…or, at least, what she saw on her trip to Egypt, and the room was fairly large. There was a very inviting-looking bed against the far wall and a small table next to it, a desk on the right, and a table with four chairs in the left-hand corner. There were two doors on the left, which she assumed to be the bathroom and closet, but she was too tired to bother checking. That was why, when the house-elves came in an hour later, they found a sleeping Ginny sprawled out across the bed, lightly snoring.


	3. The Snake Pit

**Disclaimer:** Still not British.

It wasn't until nearly ten that Ginny woke up, sunlight streaming in from the windows. Although she had been awake bright and early yesterday, she was not a morning person. Yesterday had been the exception. Stretching, she frowned when she realized she was surrounded by blue instead of familiar red and gold. Blinking a few times, she remembered the re-Sorting, and suddenly bolted up. She was supposed to meet with the new teacher today! She glanced around the room, and saw her belongings in a neat pile to her left, next to a table. Grabbing some jeans, a tee shirt, and her toothbrush, she pulled open the closest door only to find herself staring into an empty closet. She shrugged, and tried the next door, this time meeting with success.

Only fifteen minutes later she was running across the grounds to Hagrid's old hut, hoping the new teacher hadn't changed location. She was in luck, she realized, when she saw a pack of third years moving towards the hut, albeit at a more sedate pace than herself.

She stopped, about fifty feet away, when someone emerged from the hut, his back turned to her. The man turned, as if sensing her, and waved, "Hello Miss Weasley, Headmaster Dumbledore informed me you'd be visiting this morning," the professor said with an accent she couldn't quite place.

"Hello Professor…" She trailed off, having no idea whom the professor-in-question was.

"Caradoc Dearborn."

"Nice to meet you sir," Ginny said, a slight frown on her face. She recognized the name…she just couldn't remember from where. She shrugged, and surveyed the Professor she would be working most closely with for the next year. He seemed to be middle-aged, of average build, with graying black hair.

"If you'd be so kind as to wait in the hut, I will dismiss the third years…"

Ginny nodded, and walked into the gamekeeper's hut. Idly, she wondered if Professor Dearborn was the new gamekeeper, but dismissed the idea out of hand. The Professor just didn't seem the type. Glancing around, she was struck by the numerous stacks of books lying everywhere. Books on every possible creature and theory relating to the Care of Magical Creatures- some open or with bookmarks in them, but most seemed to be in pristine condition, just…stacked. She understood that the professors were supposed to be prepared…but this seemed a bit…excessive, to say the least. There wasn't much else in the hut, beyond the books, a table, and two chairs. She shrugged, and sat down in one of the chairs.

A few minutes later, Professor Dearborn strode in and sat down in the other chair, across the table from her, "Now…Miss Weasley, I am aware that you will be taking other classes, but I would appreciate it if you were here to assist me as often as possible. The Headmaster has told me you are very good with animals, and has also given me permission to pull you out of your other classes if I have need of you." He paused, seeming to gather his thoughts, "Once your schedule is worked out, I will be receiving a copy…" The Professor laughed suddenly, "I sound like a pompous windbag, don't I?" Without waiting for an answer, he continued, "I'm just afraid I'll forget something…teaching is a lot harder than it seems!"

Ginny nodded wordlessly, a little puzzled. When the Professor didn't say anything more, she spoke up cautiously, "If you don't mind me saying so…you look a little flustered. How about I just stay here and help you with the classes today, Professor?"

Professor Dearborn brightened, "Thank you, but that won't be necessary, all I'm doing is canceling classes for the week. Call me Caradoc, by the way. Professor Dearborn makes me feel old. Not that Caradoc doesn't sound old…but at least it's my first name. Besides, you aren't a student in my classes…I'm babbling, aren't I?"

Ginny nodded again, more than a little puzzled and confused by the behavior of the new professor, "Um…okay?"

"Look, Miss Weasley…I've only just arrived, and barely had time to unpack all of my books. I know Professor Dumbledore wanted us to meet…but I have no idea what I'm going to need you for! Let's just meet when you've gotten your schedule, okay?"

"Yes, Prof- Caradoc."

"Alright then. Off with you! You're young enough, go find something fun to do with your day of freedom," he said, shooing her away.

With an odd expression on her face, Ginny left the hut, and headed back up towards the castle. She couldn't really think of anything _fun_ to do, but she could pull a Hermione and go see if she could find anything about Lijanhorn in the library. After, that is, she got some food from the kitchens…she was starving! Her mind made up, she picked up her pace, rushing through the empty hallways towards the kitchens. She paused for a minute outside the fruit portrait to catch her breath before reaching out to tickle the cherry…or was it the pear? She frowned, and just tickled all of them until the portrait opened.

Stepping in, she was immediately bombarded by several house elves asking her what she wanted. She smiled faintly, "Just some breakfast please." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, a good five house elves set about preparing as much food as possible. Not a minute later, said five house elves appeared with trays laden with food. Impulsively she reached out and grabbed an apple as one of the house elves asked if she wanted the food brought up to her room. She was about to say no, but decided that, if the food was in her room, she could unpack and get settled in before going down to the library, instead of just getting in the way here. She nodded, and the five elves disappeared.

Shrugging, she walked out of the kitchens…and realized she couldn't remember how to get to her room. She sort of remembered telling herself to remember how to get there…but, as to the actual remembering, she was drawing a blank. She had to smile at that- only she would remember trying to remember something, yet forget what she was trying to remember in the first place. She would just have to wander around the school and hope she came across something that jogged her memory.

And wander she did. Quite unsuccessfully, too. She would have continued wandering, possibly forever, only she noticed a definite chill to the air, and mentally kicked herself. Of course she would just _have_ to wander into the dungeons, which was the residence of one of the two Houses she just happened to be avoiding at the moment. Quickly, she started retracing her steps, glad that it was the middle of morning classes. Suddenly, she heard voices coming up behind her, and she ducked behind the closest statue trying to figure out who could be wandering the corridors during class aside from herself. There was Peeves, of course, but he would be throwing objects, not having a three-way conversation with himself, or Filch, but Mrs. Norris didn't talk back, so it couldn't be him, either. Besides, there were two very masculine voices and a third that she recognized…Pansy! _Oh shit…_of course _Slytherins_ wouldn't have any qualms about cutting classes, she thought, mentally kicking herself again.

"Come out, little Weasley, we know you're behind the Cobra statue," one of the first two voices said silkily.

A Cobra? Of course, she hid behind a snake, she thought distantly as she stepped out from behind the statue, her hand instinctively going to her wand when she recognized Draco as the speaker, "Malfoy. Parkinson," she said, her voice much steadier than her heart. She _had_ to run into two of the more well known, and probably more powerful, Slytherin 7th years. The third Slytherin had black hair and was taller than Malfoy, but Ginny didn't recognize him.

"Don't forget Zabini," Pansy said, almost sounding…_cheerful_, "What? Don't look at us as if we're going to eat you," she snapped, shattering the happy image, "'Cause we're not…" She trailed off and looked at Malfoy questioningly.

"No, we're not," he said coolly. Malfoy had certainly grown over the summer…he had to be nearly six feet. Idly, Ginny wondered if he would continue to play Seeker now that he no longer had the build for it.

"If you aren't planning on eating me…or hexing me, or killing me, or…well, anything for not being re-Sorted into Slytherin, can I leave?"

"Why don't you come to our common room?" Pansy said, in what seemed to be a friendly tone.

"Why?" Ginny asked suspiciously, expecting a trap, and, at the same time, not expecting them to tell her as much.

"Because these two oafs aren't much for conversation, and, if I'm going to miss class, I may as well do something fun," Pansy said as if it were the most logical thing in the world.

Ginny thought about it, and nodded. The Slytherin _seemed_ sincere, and, after all…what would they be able to do to her that they wouldn't get punished for later? "Okay," she said, and felt compelled to add, "But I haven't eaten yet."

To her surprise, Pansy laughed, "Don't worry about it, we have tons of food. C'mon, most of the 7th years didn't go to class, so you can meet them."

"Meet them?"

Malfoy spoke up, "When Pansy extended our friendship to you, I assumed that you would be sorted into Slytherin. You weren't, but you didn't get placed in any of the other Houses either, so I see no reason for us to revoke our offer."

"Besides," Pansy said reasonably, "It's not like you have a common room or other members of your House to relax with, so he doesn't see why you can't be an honorary Slytherin of sorts…right?" She said the last bit as if she were unsure of what she were saying, and looked to Malfoy for confirmation.

"I suppose."

Ginny couldn't help but notice how Pansy showed deference to Malfoy; it was just odd. She knew that he was their Prince, of sorts, but she hadn't known he made decisions regarding their House as a whole. "Er…I see. I'd like that, I guess."

"Well…we don't know much about you, beyond the fact that you're the Weasel's little sister," Pansy said amicably.

"Well…I love Quidditch…I made Chaser last year, and I love animals," she paused, trying to think of what else to tell them. For all their professed friendship, she still didn't feel comfortable telling them she adored Muggle movies, hated prejudice, or that Colin had gotten her interested in still photography last year, so she shrugged helplessly, "I guess that's it. I have a rather large family…but you knew that already."

Pansy nodded, but stopped walking in front of a blank wall, "Here we are…"

"Pogrebin," Malfoy said tersely, and the wall shifted to reveal a door that all of them filed through.

The first thing Ginny noticed about their common room was the overwhelming green. The entire place had a greenish cast- even the lights were green. It wasn't the green of plants; it was just green. Overwhelmingly so. Beyond that, it felt…_welcoming_. There were a few students just relaxing on the piles of plush pillows, another two playing a rather intense game of Wizard's chess, and a couple enjoying themselves in a corner. It wasn't much different from the Gryffindor, except that Ginny herself felt welcome here, which she had never felt in Gryffindor.

"Welcome," Zabini spoke up for the first time, rather dryly, "to our lair. Make yourself at home," he said, and, following his own advice, threw himself down on some of the pillows.

Shrugging, Ginny followed suit. After settling in, she noticed that all eyes were on her. No, she corrected herself; all eyes were on Malfoy, who was seated _behind_ her.

"This is Ginny Weasley. She's welcome here," he addressed the room, "Introduce yourselves."

Obediently, all of those present did so. The first two came as a surprise to Ginny, from what she remembered they were just the goons who followed Malfoy about, incapable of playing such a complicated game as chess. But playing it they were, and quite well from what she could tell from atop her pile of pillows.

"Greg Goyle, 7th year."

"Vincent Crabbe, 7th year."

"Teddy Nott…Theodore, I mean, 7th year."

Ginny smiled at that; who would have expected a _Slytherin_ to go by the nickname Teddy? She would have laughed, if it weren't for the key fact that he was, in fact, a Slytherin, childish name or not.

"Millicent Bullstrode, 7th year."

Hmm…wasn't she the one that Hermione had tried to turn into and had ended up turning into her cat? Even the snogging couple in the corner had stopped to introduce themselves.

"Daphne Greengrass, 7th year…actually, all of us here are 7th years. Idiot," she glared at Goyle who had started the fad.

"Terrence Higgs…and, if you don't mind…"

Ginny smiled at that; he reminded her of the dragon trainers.

"You seem to know Pansy and Draco already, I'm Blaise Zabini. What d'you want to eat?"

Already feeling more at home than she had expected, "Eh. Cereal. Fruit Loops," she blurted out without thinking, forgetting that it was a muggle food.

"Sorry…I don't know what those are…do you want fruit?" Zabini queried politely.

Realizing her slip, Ginny nodded, "Yes…that'd be nice." Well, if the Slytherins were going to be friendly, she might as well give them her quirks now and have them kick her out, rather than wait until she got to know them, and have them pissed at her 'betrayal,' "Fruit Loops are a muggle breakfast food," she announced, a little louder than she had planned…and got no reaction.

"I see. I'll ask the house elves if they can find any," Zabini said, snapping his fingers. He spoke in hushed tones to the house elf that appeared; then settled himself down next to Ginny.

"Do you know much about muggles? My parents wouldn't even let me take Muggle Studies, but they're so fascinating, don't you think?"

She couldn't help herself, her jaw dropped, and she said the first thing that came to mind, "Are you sure you're a Slytherin?"

"Yes. Y'know," he said testily, "Slytherins are supposed to be cunning, not hateful of muggles."

"But-"

"I know, I know. Draco," he called, and the Slytherin-in-question seemed to materialize next to him.

"You yelled?"

"Yeah. Ginny. Misconceptions. Fix. Now."

Draco seemed amused by Zabini, and shrugged, "As you wish, master," and turned to her, "Beyond the Wonder Trio, I don't have a problem with muggles, and neither does the rest of my House. It's was a farce- an act to keep our parents at bay," he had a murderous glint in his eyes, "Our parents are the ones less receptive to other humans, not us. Once Pothead kills Voldemort, we'll thank him. Until then, we'll make his life living hell, because our parents are making our lives living hell."

The logic at the end seemed a little flawed, but, as a whole, it made sense, "Oh."

"If there's nothing else, _master_, I believe there is a certain Ravenclaw feeling rather abandoned up in my room," he said, smirking, before disappearing in what Ginny assumed to be the direction of his room.

"Did that make sense to you?"

"Yeah…so you really want to hear about muggles?" Zabini nodded. "Well…most of what fascinates wizards about them has to do with electricity. I guess you could say it's their version of magic. Well…not really. I don't understand the details, but I can tell you about some of their devices, if you like."

He nodded again, a rapt expression on his face.

"Well…they have air conditioning, which lets them cool down a room if it's too warm, dishwashers, which clean dishes for them, refrigerators, which store their food at normal temperatures…sorry, my mom's kitchen was just redone with all of them. Not really interesting, I guess. Hmm…they have computers…and the Internet-"

Zabini interrupted, "You lost me. D'you have any of these at school with you?"

"No…but I'm sure Hermione has a few muggle things spelled to work on school grounds with her. If you want, I can ask her to lend them to me so you can see them?"

Zabini seemed a little hesitant about asking one of the Golden Trio for anything, "Okay…but as long as you don't tell her they're for me."

"That's fine."

Just then, an annoyed looking Draco entered the room with a disheveled Patil on his arm…Padma, Ginny assumed, and announced, "Alright guys…pick it up. History of Magic is over, time to go to class."

There were several groans issued by protesting Slytherins as Zabini turned to her, "Shit…sorry we have to leave so soon Weasley-"

"Call me Ginny."

"Alright Ginny, call me Blaise. Sorry we have to leave, but you're welcome here anytime."

"Thanks...you and the other Slytherins can come visit me in my room, I suppose…if I knew where it was. It's behind a rather sweet portrait of a girl named Ariana, actually. I can't find her, though."

"Have you asked the other portraits for directions?"

"Er…no…I didn't think of that," Ginny said, feeling quite stupid.

"You might want to try that," he said, standing up. He offered her his hand, and pulled her up. The Slytherins were grouping together at the door, and Ginny and Blaise joined them.

"Today, I'm thinking we stick to the regular cracks against Wonder boy and his two sidekicks, but lay off on everyone else," Draco was saying as the group left.

When they reached the main floor, Ginny separated from the group and waved goodbye before going in search of a decent portrait to ask directions from. Sure, there were portraits everywhere, but many were apt to give false directions, whether for their own amusement or simply because that's where they _thought_ she should go. She found a nice-looking portrait of a middle-aged, bespectacled man who directed her straight to Ariana.

"Hey sweetie, I've got to go in and shower, but I'll come out and talk to you later, alright?" Ginny said, smiling at the girl, who had been drawing when Ginny found her, "Buzzing bumblebees."

Stepping in, Ginny saw a veritable feast laid out for her on the table, and realized that the house elf in Slytherin had never returned with any food for her. Her stomach growled, but she decided to unpack and take a shower first before eating. That way, when she ate, it would, more or less, be at the same time as the rest of the school. More importantly, it meant that after she ate she could make her way to a fairly empty library, and research her new House in peace. Her plan set in her mind, she started sifting threw her trunk, glad that she wouldn't have to live out of it like most students did for the year.


	4. Lijara

**Disclaimer:** Not Rowling…still.

----------------------------------------------

Ginny was just settling down to eat when Ariana's muffled voice came through the walls, "Ginny? There are people here to see you."

Who could it possibly be? Slytherins, sure…but she had just seen them not 30 minutes ago. Teachers, then? No one else knew where her room was…at least, no one she knew of. She gave the food a longing glance, but got up, "It's okay Ariana, you can let them in."

"Er…hi Ginny," said one rather flustered brother of hers, followed in by Hermione and Harry, "We used the map to find you…"

Just her gods-forsaken luck, of course. Her brother just _had_ to be friends with the _one_ student in the entire castle who had a map that could locate her at all times. _Great._ And of course he comes here right away to insult me some more. Well…if he had been set on that, he probably would have come in yelling, so that was something, wasn't it? Instead of accusing him of anything, she said, rather cautiously, "Hello Ron. Hermione. Harry."

"Ginny," Ron started, his tone harsh, but Hermione poke him and he relented, "I'm-I'm sorry. I shouldn't try to control you. It's your life and it isn't up to me to decide how it's run, even if I want to. As a big brother, it is my duty to protect you, but not to cloister you away like a…a nun," he parroted dutifully, only faltering at the end. After his little monologue, he gave Hermione a look that clearly said, '_There. I did it. Happy?'_

Ginny stifled a giggle, "Thanks, Hermione," to which her brother gave her a mock-wounded look, but didn't deny it. She smiled; glad that Ron wasn't staying angry for very long. He was protective, yes, but he was one of her best friends, too, "Oh, c'mon Ron. You can't expect me to believe you came up with that on your own. Come, sit," she invited, gesturing to the table laden with food, "I'm assuming you skipped lunch to come find me, which means that Ron, and probably Harry, are very close to losing their remaining sanity to hunger, don't you think, Hermione?" Without waiting for a response, she continued, "I had the house elves bring me up some food for break fast about 2 hours ago…I haven't really had the chance to eat it yet. It should still be warm, but it's mostly breakfast food."

Ron needed no prompting to help himself to the food, and immediately sat down and helped himself to some of everything. Shrugging, Harry followed suit, while Hermione rolled her eyes and sat down, not making a move towards the food.

"So, how's your first day been, oh exalted Head Girl…and, pray tell, what in Merlin's name convinced you to bring these two goons with you?"

Hermione said seriously, "Ah yes…_them_, t'was not of my own will, they have been following _me_ for the past seven years. Simply unacceptable, but, as their actions have been, for the most part, harmless, there's nothing I can do…no…rules against…it," she said, bursting out laughing. Harry and Ron looked up at the sudden noise, having been busy stuffing their faces, with similar looks of confusion on their faces, before returning to their oh-so-important task of eating all the food the house elves had brought up. Ginny, on the other hand, laughed along with Hermione before _finally_ getting to eat some long-awaited food.

The four spent a few minutes in amicable silence…or, rather, three of them were stuffing their faces and Hermione deigned not to comment before Ron spoke up, "Have you met the new teacher you're assisting?"

"Ye- How'd you find out?"

"He told us as much when he dismissed class this morning…for the whole week, can you believe it?" Hermione responded, "Honestly! A teacher canceling a week of classes without being deathly ill! Hmph."

"'Mione, who cares?! I can not attend class and not get in trouble for it!" Ron said gleefully, and Harry nodded emphatically.

"Well…yeah, I've met him. Seems a little frazzled, though. Wants to meet with me again once he's more settled in. What other class did you have today?"

"Herbology, with Hufflepuff. It'll prolly be one of the easiest classes this year…I hope," Harry answered, "With all the extra work for our N.E.W.T.'s, I'm hoping for any break I can get," he added gloomily.

"Harry, don't remind me! Those things are ages away," at that, Hermione rolled her eyes, "But look on the bright side! We only have two classes with the Slytherins, and, for once, it isn't Potions!"

Harry brightened, and Ginny asked curiously, "What classes _do_ you have with Slytherin?"

"Just Dada and Charms…not bad, really," Ginny nodded noncommittally at that, "So then, oh dearest sister of mine, if you are finished quizzing us on how the first few hours of our oh-so-interesting first day back, perhaps you'll enlighten us as to how your morning's been?"

"Well…I slept in 'til ten," Harry and Ron shot her dirty looks, "went and met with Professor Dearborn, and…" She faltered, "And wandered around the school looking for Ariana-"

"Why didn't you just ask the portraits?" butted in Hermione.

"Well, I did, when I thought of it. Then I unpacked- I have a closet, by the way. No living out of a box for me! Took a shower, and sat down. I was _planning _on going to the library to see if I could find anything on Lijanhorn after I ate, however, as I was just about to eat, the smartest witch in the world and her two thugs interrupted me. It soon became apparent that my brother, as instructed by the Head Girl, was not going to remain in angry-overprotective mode. _Then_ we sat down and ate, I asked my friends a few polite questions about their day and then I began to give this detailed account of my less-than-exciting first day back in Hogwarts and then-I-caught-up-to-myself-and-now-I'm-babbling." She paused for a breath, and smiled sweetly, "Detailed enough for you?"

"No, actually I was hoping you would inform us as to when you inhaled and exhaled," Ron rolled his eyes, "I was just making conversation!"

"No…I'm betting Hermione told you to act caring and interested in my life," Hermione nodded sheepishly at that, "Your idea of 'conversation' is to insult the Slytherins, or talk about Quidditch," both Ron and Harry sat up straighter at the mention of their favorite sport, "By the way…who's Captain? And who's replacing me?"

Ron's chest visibly puffed out, "I'm Captain. McGonagall figured I had a good head for strategy."

"Congratulations!"

"Yeah. Dunno who's going to be replacing you, though. Have to hold tryouts, and all. You sure you can't still play on the team?"

"Yeah…Dumbledore said I can still practice with a team, though. And no, I am _not_ practicing with Gryffindor. You know why," her brother had a pleading look on his face, "If I'm not going to be playing in the matches, then I have no reason to put up with _those_ two. I'll practice with another one of the Houses," she said, conveniently leaving out the fact that, if she had her way, she'd be practicing with Slytherin. Somehow, she didn't think that'd go over well with even Hermione, who didn't particularly care for Quidditch. Her brother loved her, and was even trying to not be an overprotective git, but…it just didn't extend to her new association with Slytherin.

Hermione spoke up next, "You were going to research Lijanhorn? We'll help," she said with a pointed look at the boys, "if you'd like, that is."

Ginny smiled gratefully, "That'd be great…don't you have classes?"

"Nah, we have History of Magic," Harry answered, "We're not going."

Hermione nodded, and Ginny felt her jaw drop. _Hermione?_ _Skipping class_? She vocalized her thoughts, and Hermione smiled shyly, "Even me, I know…but it's been a tradition, ever since Professor Binns became a ghost, for 7th years to skip the first day…or even week of his class, depending on the Head Girl and Boy. Ernie and I decided that one day would be more than enough, especially with no Care of Magical Creatures classes all week."

Oh. So the Slytherins were just following tradition, then… "I see. Well, I'd really appreciate your help, then. Everyone done eating?" They all nodded, although Ron stuffed another bite of food in his mouth as he did so, "Well…let's go, then."

The four talked amongst themselves as they walked down to the library, where Hermione quickly took charge, "As Head Girl, I have access to the Restricted Section, so I'll look there. Harry- you check biographies, Ginny- see if there are any books written by the founders or any books that just look useful," she shrugged, "You're a capable witch, look where you want, And, Ron," she smiled sweetly, "I believe Hogwarts: A History is calling to you," Ron made a strangled noise, "Have fun!"

The four split up, agreeing to return to the table in the corner with books. Ginny wandered up and down the isles, looking for anything remotely useful. Hermione seemed to think she could manage on her own, and she didn't want to prove her wrong. After a while, she returned to the table laden with books to find everyone else already back. She had everything from The Hogwarts Four: Little Known Facts, which was written anonymously, to Rowena the Ravishing Ravenclaw, by Adam Mirer. She was a little dubious about the last one, but Harry could flip through it if her wanted to. It fell under his jurisdiction, anyways. She hadn't found anything written by the Founders themselves; less the luck to herself.

Nearly an hour and a half passed, all of them reading quietly, the near-silence only interrupted by the occasional scratching of a quill as they took notes. Ginny was growing exceedingly frustrated by the lack of information she was finding when Hermione spoke up, "Alright…I think we should compare notes, it's nearly time for us to go to classes. Let's start with…you," she said, nodding towards Ron.

Ginny's brother glared at Hermione, "I can't see what you like about this book. It's so…boring. Didn't find out much of anything. Hey…why did I have to read this book if you already have it memorized?" He asked suspiciously.

"Consider it a lesson. In being supportive of you sister, rather than stifling," Hermione said smiling, "I already knew there wasn't anything in there useful." Ron glared at Hermione but, surprisingly, did not get very angry. Looks like she's doing a good job of taming him, then. "How about you, Harry?"

"Helga's favorite color was green. Erhum…not much. I mean, a lot of the books mentioned 'special projects' that the Founders were working on, together or separately, they just didn't say what those projects were. Maybe Lijanhorn was one of them. Ooh, and that book you found, Ginny- _very_ interesting," he winked, and Ginny grabbed the book out of his hands.

She flipped threw it, puzzled, and then smirked, "Why, Harry Potter! I'm ashamed of you! I cannot believe that you would read such trash as th-"

Hermione grabbed the book from Ginny, opened it, and then looked up, confused, "What's wrong with this? It's just a biography on…" She trailed off as Harry and Ginny began laughing, "That was childish of you. Very childish," she scolded them, "And, to think, I was just convincing Ron that you weren't a little girl anymore. Then you go and make me doubt the _Hogwart's Library_, of all things!"

Ginny resisted the urge to roll her eyes, "C'mon Hermione, it was just a little joke. Come to think of it…it wasn't very funny, either. And, before you ask, I found nothing. Nothing-nothing-nothing," she chanted in a singsong voice.

Hermione sighed, "I didn't find anything useful either. Sorry, Ginny. But I made a list of the books we read through today, so, when we keep looking, we don't go through the same book twice by accident. Well, we'll help put away the books, but then we'll be off."

Ginny smiled wanly, annoyed that their research hadn't paid off, "Thanks. I really appreciate your help, y'know." She gathered up a fair amount of the books and started re-shelving them. She was just about to put away the last book when it began to _glow._ Startled, she nearly dropped it, and then really did drop it when she heard a voice akin to the Sorting Hat's in her head.

"_Hello. 'Bout time you were alone. Hurry up, let's go somewhere private."_

"_Wha-bu-you're a book!"_

"_No I'm not," _the voice said, sounding exasperated, _"I'm glad I found you so quickly. Anyways, don't you have private rooms or something where we can go?"_

"_Er…yes,"_ she picked up the glowing book gingerly, holding it by the binding as she walked towards the door, _"Just- just don't talk right now. I might drop you again. And could you stop glowing?"_

Apparently the book listened, as it not only stopped talking and glowing, it turned invisible. Well…at least that way Madam Pinch wouldn't stop her from leaving the library with it. Hurrying back to her room, she called out 'buzzing bumblebees' as soon as Ariana was in sight. She could just change the password later today.

Stepping in, she placed the invisible book down on the now cleared table carefully, and gasped when the outline of the book appeared, only to disappear in a swirl of red, blue, silver, and black. Moments later, the haze of colors solidified in the shape of a person about two feet in height. Soon, all of the colors dissipated, leaving Ginny to look down upon a two-foot tall woman dressed in a very fancy red gown.

"Hello. I'm Lijara. You must be the First."


	5. An Explanation of Sorts

**Disclaimer:** Am not J.K. Rowling or anyone else who has a claim in the profits of Harry Potter.

Ginny sat down on the bed and sighed. This was just too much. Was a Blibbering Humdinger going to drop by for afternoon tea next? Maybe she somehow got thrown into an alternate universe! She'd heard about them on muggle sci fi movies. That seemed to be the only plausible explanation for her re-Sorting, the nice Slytherins, her brother being reasonable, and the book-turned-mini-person on her table. "Nice Slytherins! My brother being, of all things, REASONABLE!" she shrieked at Lijara, "You! A book looking for _me?!_ Argh!" She took a deep breath, and said politely, "Hello, I'm Ginny Weasley, nice to meet you."

Lijara seemed unperturbed, "Slytherins being nice, eh? Ol' Salazar must be having a fit in his grave," she chuckled, but sobered up when Ginny began banging her head against her bedpost, "Um…I know this is really odd, even in our world, but I'm not a book. I was just _disguised_ as a book so I could find you-"

"Didn't I find you?" Ginny had stopped acting like a house elf and was now just staring at the mini person in front of her. Lijara had black hair, light blue eyes, delicate features, and was wearing a very elegant dress. Other than the fact that she was just about two feet tall, the only odd thing about her was how she seemed to be several shades too light. Like a ghost, she seemed to have some sort of bluish glow to her and bordered on transparent, although the qualities were much more muted in her than in ghosts.

"Well, yes, but that's besides the point. Do you want me to tell you what you need to know or not?"

"Need to know?" Ginny repeated blankly.

Lijara nodded impatiently, "Yes. As I said before your outburst, you're the First. First Member of Lijanhorn, that is. Oh, I may as well save you the time; you won't find anything in the library. The Founders were too careful for that. Anyways, Lijanhorn was a project of theirs- a house that was, if all went well, going to unite first Hogwarts, then the rest of the wizarding world-"

Ginny opened her mouth to speak, but Lijara waved her hand dismissively, "Let me talk, then you can ask questions when I'm done. Although Hogwarts was relatively united at the time, Sal, um…Mr. Slytherin felt that he was going mad, slowly, and he was afraid he would do something…for lack of a better word, bad, so he told the others, and they came up with Lijanhorn. And then they…called on me to assist them, naming me as the guide to the house. I guess I'm kind of like a Head of House. Only less stuffy."

She paused, as if trying to remember what she was supposed to be talking about, "Hogwarts is supposed to be divided by Houses, yes, but united in ideals," she said seriously, "Obviously, it is only divided. When you came to Hogwarts, I was awakened…well, sort of. I've always been aware of everything that went on in the school- maybe not everything, but a lot- but your arrival made me active again. I was kind of in a coma until you came," she gestured helplessly, "I don't know how to explain it. Let's just stick with the idea that your arrival woke me up," she said, seeming to talk to herself. She focused back in on Ginny, and shook her head, as if to wake herself up, "Sorry…Centuries of not talking to anyone…not really used to it. Anyways, I was the stool then. I'm not human, obviously, and I can't do magic in the traditional sense. Well…I suppose I could, if I took the time to learn…but, for simplicity's sake, let's just say I can't do normal magic. But I can change form at will, sort of like that witch…Nymphadora was her name, I believe. I'm sorry…I'm off subject again, aren't I?"

Ginny nodded dazedly, but Lijara was already continuing, "I was having quite the conversation with the Sorting Hat while he Sorted students, and I was going to insist that you be placed in Lijanhorn right away, but, when your turn came, you were pleading so earnestly to the Hat to be placed in Gryffindor that I relented. I figured I could sort it out later, and I did," a note of pride entered her voice, "I changed myself into that crackpot Divination teacher and prophesized that _'A being of red locks and of six years study has been misplaced and should meet with Gryffindor's ruddy hat again_,'" she had made her voice deep for the prophecy and sighed before continuing in her regular voice, "Not very good, and I think the Headmaster realized something was wrong, but, when he spoke to…Trelawney! That's her name! Well, when he spoke to her, she had no recollection of it, which is normal, so he seemed to accept it. That's why you were re-Sorted."

After a minute, Ginny realized that Lijara was done. "Oh," she managed to get out, and Lijara looked at her expectantly, "I don't know what to say…" Which was true. She had not the faintest idea of how to respond to it, as her brain was just trying to process what Lijara had said and had she called Salazar Slytherin Sal? And then Mr. Slytherin? Another few moments passed in silence as Ginny's brain attempted to catch up with her mouth. Finally, she asked apprehensively, "So I'm supposed to unify all of Hogwarts?"

"Mmm…yes, that's about it."

"You're out of your fucking mind," Ginny said conversationally, "Would you like some tea? I like tea. I like coffee, too…but mostly tea. I like dragons, too. Do you like dragons?"

"I'm getting the impression that you aren't taking this very well…at all…what's wrong?"

"What's wrong? You've been 'awake' as you put it, and you need to ask what's bloody _wrong_? Well, I'll tell you what's _wrong_! I was torn away from my few friends in this school to unite the whole damned school! Slytherins are being fucking nice! You stuck this whole fucking task upon me without so much as a fucking _please_! My brother apologized for being over-fucking-protective. About fucking! You- you stool! Fucking book! Book fuck!" Her voice was shrill, as she not-so-coherently 'explained' the situation. She was hysterical as she pointed her finger accusingly at Lijara, "Your-fucking-fault!"

Lijara seemed taken aback, "Well…yes, I suppose it is my fault," she said cautiously, "And I know that this is a bit much to ask of anyone. I'm sorry."

Ginny, however, had reached her quota for angry rants for the day, and was taking deep breaths as she tried to calm down. Massaging her temples, she looked up, "It's okay. It's just…a lot at once."

"Well, I do have some good news in that department, then," Lijara said brightly, "Before you unite Hogwarts, you get to choose some members for this House. Only upper-classmen, though, because Lijanhorn is just a temporary tool to unite the school."

Ginny seemed nonplussed, "And how, exactly, is that good news? Its just more work!"

Lijara frowned, "You could look at it that way," she paused to think, "Actually…I guess you're right. Well, how about I show you to the House's _real_ lodgings, then?"

Ginny sighed, and nodded. It was just too much to process, so why not go see her fourth room in as many weeks? "Just-" she yawned, "Lemme take a nap first, alright?" Without waiting for a reply, she sank back into the pillows and promptly fell asleep.

Lijara glanced at her charge askance, and settled down to wait for her to wake up.

------------------------------

Ginny was awoken by the sounds of someone screeching, rather rudely, in her opinion. As she rubbed her eyes blearily, she realized it was Ariana shrieking, and she jumped off the bed.

"-NY! GINNY! WAKE UP THERE'S A NASTY _SLYTHERIN_ HERE! WAKEEEE UPPPP! GI-"

"Ariana, it's okay, open the portrait, I'm coming out," Ginny said after running a brush through her hair. Ariana quieted immediately, and swung open to reveal one Blaise Zabini. Ginny stepped out, not noticing that she was followed out by, of all things, a ring before Ariana's portrait swung shut, "Um…hello. What brings you here at this time of night?"

"I didn't see you at dinner, so I brought you some food," Blaise said, smiling as he revealed the parcel of food he had been holding behind his back, "Hungry?"

"Thanks…" It still unnerved her to talk to a Slytherin without attempting to hex it. "Would you like to come in?"

"Why, Weasley, are you so wanton that you shall invite me into your bedroom but hours after we've met?"

Ginny blushed furiously as she tried to not think about the summer. She failed. After a very brief awkward moment, she shrugged, and said impudently, "Why, Zabini, are you such a failure of a Slytherin that you don't jump at the chance?" Blaise's eyes widened only a fraction, but, in the unemotional world of Slytherin, it was enough for Ginny to know that she had surprised him. Feeling like she had the upper hand, "Fine, you win. If you come in, I _promise_ I'll be a lady. I won't try to seduce you."

"Ah, but I was just being a gentleman when I questioned you're intentions."

_Damn. Well…he _is_ good-looking. Down girl,_ she scolded herself, _this is school. The real world. _She couldn't think of a witty repartee, "Fine, you win. Now that you mention it, though, I am but a blushing school-girl virgin in this scary world, and could use a gentlemanly protector of my virtue…"

"Somehow I doubt that," Blaise said dryly, "All of it. Not only do you have, what, six brothers-"

"Seven, if you count Harry," Ginny cut in.

"Whatever. I'll just leave it at you don't need another protector. Friends?" He said, holding out his hand.

Ginny eyed his hand suspiciously. He was, after all, a Slytherin. A Slytherin who had expressed interest in Muggle things and brought her dinner…but a Slytherin nonetheless. Suddenly, an idea struck her: she could make him a member of Lijanhorn!

"Already starting in on your tasks? Well, let me have a look at him and I'll tell you what I think."

Ginny started at Lijara's voice in her head, and hastily reached out to shake Blaise's hand, "Friends. But I have a better idea…No, not _that_," she said at the look on his face, "Wait here," she said, turning to go back into her room to get Lijara.

_"I'm down here! I'm the ring…I followed you out."_

Ginny reached down and picked up the ring, looking at it curiously. Momentarily forgetting Blaise's presence, despite the fact that he was only a few feet from her, "How?"

Lijara and Blaise responded simultaneously, "How what?" _"I kind of rolled out…"_

"Oh…Hi Blaise. I was talking to Lijara," she held out the ring.

Blaise looked at her as if he were about to Floo her to St. Mungo's, and Ginny could have hit her head at her own idiocy. _"Lijara transform now before he tries to get me locked away!" _She commanded, hoping Lijara could hear her, before speaking to Blaise, "I'm not insane, really."

Blaise raised his eyebrow, but Lijara chose that moment to transform back into herself. Ginny smiled in relief when the colored haze appeared and disappeared, leaving Lijara standing in the air above her hand, "Hullo Blaise. I'm Lijara. You must be one of the nice Slytherins."

"Nice?" Blaise looked disgusted, "I'm not nice. I'm cunning."

Lijara sniffed, "Ginny, I suppose he'll do…if he's willing to leave his precious House of Cunning People, that is. Just remember," her voice took on a warning note, "He _was_ Sorted into Slytherin, and so he, and all of them, are not to be trifled with."

Ginny smiled and ignored Lijara's last few words, while Blaise was giving the floating being less-than-friendly looks, "Great! Blaise…how'd you like to be a member of Lijanhorn?"

"You're joking, right? No…you're not," he sighed, "Would I have to leave Slytherin?"

"Of course, you oaf. I'm supposed to unite the school and find members for Lijanhorn."

"Unite the school? You're bloody insane," he said, echoing Ginny's sentiments of a few hours ago, "But…leave Slytherin? What would Snape say? What would _Draco_ say?"

She found it amusing that he cared more about Draco's opinion than about his Head-of-House's, but it did bring her attention to the fact that Lijara couldn't just waltz around and declare that she was destined to unite the school…and then the world…by stealing members of the other Houses. Lijara would have to be introduced to Dumbledore, and then, _maybe_, she could go about carefully choosing people. Or, at least, that's what the responsible side of her was saying. The impulsive side was leaning towards, well, impulsiveness. Her impulsive side won. "C'mon…it'll be fun! I don't have a Head of House, other than Lijara, and Lijanhorn already has rooms…that I was just on my way to see when I woke up, and the Slytherins can visit anytime they want and maybe some of them can even become members too and…" She trailed off, awaiting his response.

Apparently Blaise had an impulsive side too, or he was just plotting, because he grinned and agreed. Lijara rolled her eyes, "C'mon, you two. Let me show you your new rooms."


	6. Two Letters

**Disclaimer: **Still not Rowling.

Ginny awoke before dawn to the irritating sound of an owl tapping on her window. She looked over at Blaise as he lay asleep next to her, and sighed. _So much for being a blushing schoolgirl virgin_. She slipped on some clothes and let the rather large owl in, grabbing the envelope it held- addressed to Blaise Zabini. The owl settled down regally in the corner, apparently waiting for a reply. As she went to shut the window, another, more familiar owl came hurtling through, barely missing her. This one was addressed to her, in Harry's untidy scrawl. She sighed again, and left the window open.

She sat down on the bed and tapped Blaise on the shoulder. All she got was a muffled grunt, so she sat on him, "Wake up! There's an owl here for you."

He rolled over onto his back, causing her to fall. He smirked, "I wonder if there are any other blushing schoolgirl virgins in this school that I should know about?"

"Damn it Blaise, get out of my head!"

"Dream of me?"

She rolled her eyes, "No, I just had the same thought as you."

"You were thinking about schoolgirl virgins, too?"

"Ugh. Here. This came for you," she handed him the envelope while she opened her own.

_Gin,_

_Ron and Hermione and I went up to your rooms after curfew tonight and you weren't there…_

_Well…Ron's pissed. It was kind of a surprise to not find you there. I sincerely hope you have a good explanation as to why we found you in a previously solid piece of wall with none other than Blaise Zabini on the map. Maybe you can't tell, but I'm restraining the urge to run around screaming WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU WITH A SLYTHERIN!?! _

_Instead, I'm trying to remain calm. I really, _really_ am. I'm sure there's a logical explanation as to why my almost-sister was in a room, overnight, with a Slytherin. Actually, _I'm_ not sure there's a logical explanation; Hermione's just trying to persuade me that there is._

_Anyways. As I'm writing this we're preparing to go wait for you in that corridor-that-used-to-not-have-a-room-where-you-are-with-Zabini. Oh. Did I mention Ron's pissed?_

_Your loving yet very confused and worried almost-brother,_

Harry 

"Oh fuck…" She murmured, quickly categorizing this as 'an event that would dramatically worsen the day before it started.'

"What's yours say?"

"The Wonder Trio is bloody camped outside of the wall. They know you're here. I'm _so_ fucked."

"You're fucked? My letter was from Draco," said Blaise, as if that clarified everything, which, of course, it did not.

"Is he camped outside the door?"

"No-"

"Then I don't see how it can be wo-"

"He demanded to know why my name had stricken itself off of the records of Slytherin of its own accord," he said flatly.

Ginny threw her hands up in despair. "That's wonderful," she said sarcastically, "But Draco is not roughly ten meters away waiting to murder you. My brother is. Quick," her tone shifted to a more frantic one, "Why were we here?"

There was a moment of silence, then, "I can't believe I let you talk me into this," they said simultaneously.

Ginny sighed, "You first."

"You…I'm not a Slytherin anymore!"

Ginny snorted, "You didn't make a really good one, anyways. Muggle inventions?"

"I'm a pureblood. My parents are…involved in the Dark Arts. I'm _supposed_ to be in Slytherin." He gestured vaguely, "Um…that's it."

"I can't believe I let you talk me into _this_," she waved between the two of them, feeling herself grow, at the least, faintly red.

Blaise smirked, "I don't recall that there was much talking involved, oh blushing schoolgirl."

Ginny closed her eyes. There had to be some logical way, as Harry had suggested, out of this mess. Really. Unfortunately, nothing was coming to mind. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes. To her surprise, Blaise was looking at her with concern, but she waved him off and said, a little too brightly, "Well, let's go face whatever shit we've landed ourselves in, hmm?"

And then it hit her. In all her panic, she had failed to seize upon the most reasonable answer- the one that contained bits of truth. "Wait…it's so simple. We just tell them about how I chose you to be a member of Lijanhorn, and leave out the rest!"

Blaise looked torn between amusement and amazement. Amazement won. "You stupid little girl," he said scathingly, reminding Ginny frighteningly of the one time she had seen Pierre Zabini, his father, "Of _course_ that's we'll tell _them._ It's _Draco_ I'm worried about, you dolt!"

Ginny cringed, horrified that she had been thinking of Blaise as a normal human. Lijara was right; he was every bit the Slytherin. She knew she was crap at hiding her emotions, so she didn't even try. "You have no fucking right to speak to me like that," she bit out, inwardly berating herself for attempting to befriend a Slytherin.

Blaise's features softened slightly as he looked her over, an uneasy silence hanging in the air. Eventually, he spoke. "Look…Ginny…I'm sorry? I dunno. I'm a Slytherin. We're snakes…don't tap the glass, we snap."

She thought that had to be one of the most illogical explanations she had ever heard, and she lived with Fred and George, so that was saying something. She couldn't hold grudges, and she should have known to expect something like this anyways, so… "S'alright. Why are you so bloody worried about Malfoy, though? I know he's supposed to be the 'Slytherin prince,' but…really. Isn't it a bit much?"

Blaise waved his hand dismissively, "Trust a Gryffindor to not understand…an ex-Gryffindor," he amended at Ginny's expression, "It's sort of a long story. You were right in that Draco used to be our figure head…our model Slytherin, I guess. The summer before our sixth year, no one saw him. And I mean no one. He came to school thin, bloody, and unnaturally pale. And kind of scary. No one knows what happened, but he had changed. He's a powerful wizard, and we respect him for that. No one really knows how stable he is, either. But he took a stand to not follow the Dark Lord, and spent the beginning of our sixth year convincing all of Slytherin to not follow in their parents' steps."

"You follow him because you're scared of him?"

"No, because…well, he's one of those people that's born to lead. He isn't the most down-to-earth person around, but he's powerful, and he doesn't expect fanatical devotion. He's kind of like those….what do muggles call them? Stickers that slowly reduce their addiction to drugs…Slytherin has for so long been at the whim of the Dark Lord that we…they need sort of a step down before we start dividing into factions and such. Draco was my best friend growing up, and I think he'd be happier if his friends would be just that: friends. Instead of people deferential to him. Eventually, I suppose we will be…"

"That made no sense. Oh crap…my brother!" Ginny jumped up, and pointed commandingly out the door, "Get dressed and then come meet them. Oh, and Blaise?" She paused, "I don't think that…_we_ should happen again. Friends, alright?" She looked at him anxiously, waiting until he nodded before dashing out the door.

"Um…hi!" she said brightly. "Nice of you to worry so much, I think."

"GINNY WEASLEY-" Ron began as soon as he heard her voice, but his own voice was cut off by a flick of Hermione's wand. Hermione had a pained expression on her face, and apologized to Ron, who was being restrained now by Harry.

"Ron, quit struggling, or I'll tie you up," Hermione snapped. "Ginny, I do hope you have an explanation."

"Well, yes. Yes I do. Everyone, meet Blaise," she said as the wall shimmered and Blaise appeared. "He's the newest member of the House of Lijanhorn, and these are our dormitories."

"That's it?" Harry said.

"Yeah." Ginny nodded, and Lijara suddenly appeared next to her. "Oh, well, not entirely everything. This is Lijara, and she's our head of house."


	7. Words of Wisdom

**Disclaimer**: Am not J.K. Rowling. Shocking, no?

---------------------------------------------

Ron, Hermione, and Harry just stared.

"I know, shocking, eh?" Lijara said, smiling. "The amazing two-foot tall woman! Except I'm not really human. But that's not important. You must be her brother, Ron, right?"

Ron's mouth was hanging open, and he closed it. He attempted to speak, and then nodded. Hermione muttered the counterspell, but Ron remained mute.

"And you must be Harry. And Hermione. I've heard loads about you throughout the years. Anyways, I'm sure you all must be hungry, so let's go down to breakfast, hmm?"

But Ron had regained his voice, and he now looked at Blaise with a mix of disgust and anger on his face. "Stay away from my sister," he spat.

Blaise sneered. "Only if she tells me to, Weasel. Besides, I think she rather likes it," he said suggestively.

"Blaise, Ron, shove it," Ginny snapped.

"Why're you calling him Blaise, Ginny?" Harry said, an odd expression on his face.

"Because we're friends. Please, can we just go to breakfast?"

"I think not. I don't like how cozy you are with _him_," Harry said, the same odd expression on his face.

Ginny threw her hands up. "That is it! _Blaise_ and I are going to breakfast! You three are welcome to camp out here, but stay away from me until you _grow up_!" Her eyes glittered dangerously as she grabbed Blaise's hand and dragged him down the hallway. Blaise smirked at the Dream Team over his shoulder.

Once there was a safe distance between them and the three Gryffindors, Ginny rounded on Blaise. "And who do you think you are, being so rude to them?"

"I'm a Slytherin! My parents are Deatheaters!" he hissed. "I'm supposed to get off on that sort of thing."

"You aren't a Slytherin," she reminded him. "And your parents aren't here. You'll be of legal age soon, if you aren't yet, and that means it's time you start taking responsibility for yourself! So what if you get disowned? It's better than supporting some asshole supremacist."

"You don't get it, do you? They'll kill me if they find out I don't agree with them. And I think you have this idea that I'm some fucking goody two-shoes. I'm not. I _like_ the Dark Arts. I'm cunning, two-faced, and ultimately here for my own good."

Ginny looked at him for a moment sadly. "Blaise, you are a good person. You went against your upbringing to see the truth of the world. You've just had it drilled into your head that you're supposed to be bad that you've come to believe it. But you've got a new start ahead of you. You're a Lijanhorn now, and our job is to unite the school against a common enemy. It's a new start."

Blaise said nothing for a long time. "Just…just bear with me. This is going to take some adjusting to. And…and I can't leave the school once my parents find out. They won't just disown me, they'll try to kill me. Fucking kill me. Okay?"

Ginny smiled. "Yeah. C'mon, let's go deal with the nasty Slytherins now."

There was a fifth table set up in the Great Hall now, one that flanked the opposite end of the hall from the teachers' table. The two Lijanhorns made they're way to the table amidst the stares from their classmates. No sooner had they sat down than a snotty first-year Slytherin appeared.

"Malfoy wants to see you, Zabini," the tiny kid said, looking down his nose at Blaise.

"Then tell Draco he can come here and see me, fuckface. And don't go disrespecting your elders like that. It's enough to get you killed, in our world." Blaise watched the kid head back to the Slytherin table with a look of sadness on his face. "Poor kid. Member of the MacFusty clan, and he has no idea what he's getting into."

A few minutes later, Draco arrived at their table. "Anyone else, Zabini…"

"But you love me," Blaise said.

"Explain. Now."

"Ginny chose me as a member of Lijanhorn. This is Lijara." Blaise shrugged as Draco gave Lijara an appraising glance. "We're supposed to unite the school against a common enemy. Three guesses as to who that is. Could _you _say no to her face?" Blaise was being very blasé about this, as if he hadn't recently been upset about it.

"I see." Draco nodded, and then looked at Lijara, who stared calmly back.

"Mr. Malfoy, you are not terribly frightening," Lijara said. "I do hope you won't cause trouble as we attempt to unite the school. It shall be difficult enough as it is." Lijara's tone implied that the words she was saying didn't matter, that there was some deeper message she was trying to convey. Whatever it was, Ginny couldn't understand it, but it seemed that Draco did.

"I know. I still remember." With that, Draco walked off.

"What was that about?" Ginny said, looking at Lijara.

Lijara shook her head slowly. "Nothing dear, nothing."

Silence fell on Lijanhorn's mostly empty table until an owl arrived for Ginny with the owl post. Opening it quickly, Ginny found her schedule and a short note. She scanned her schedule before reading the note.

Monday:

Double Charms (Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw)

Double History of Magic (Hufflepuff)

Tuesday:

CoMC (First years, Gryffindor/Slytherin)

CoMC (First years, Ravenclaw/Hufflepuff)

Double Defense Against the Dark Arts (Slytherin/Hufflepuff)

Wednesday:

Double Transfiguration (Gryffindor/Slytherin)

CoMC (Sixth years)

CoMC (Seventh years)

Thursday:

Double Herbology (Ravenclaw/Hufflepuff)

CoMC (First years, Gryffindor/Slytherin)

CoMC (First years, Ravenclaw/Hufflepuff)

Friday:

CoMC (Sixth years)

CoMC (Seventh years)

Double Potions (Ravenclaw)

_Dear Miss Weasley,_

_Your schedule is enclosed. I hope you find it acceptable. Professor Dearborn requested you help with both the advanced and beginning classes, so we planned your schedule around that. You will notice that most of your classes are double blocks. We hope that will create less confusion when it comes to coursework. _

_Please inform Mr. Zabini that his schedule will remain the same despite his switching houses. I would appreciate it if you, Mr. Zabini, and Miss Lijara would come to my office at some point this morning. I have spoken to Professor Snape, and he has agreed to release Mr. Zabini from his class for the morning. _

_Welcome back to school,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

"Dumbledore says your schedule will stay the same," Ginny said. "And we're to meet with him this morning. You're excused from class."

"Brilliant," Blaise said.

"And he knew about you." Ginny looked at Lijara. "How did he know about you?"

"Albus is a wise man," Lijara said. "If he weren't so pure of heart, he would be very dangerous. As it is, he remains a danger to those who cross him."

"When do you want to go see him?" Ginny asked.

"Eh. Later. I want to take a shower and read the paper," Blaise said.

"You actually read that trash?"

"'Know thy enemy,'" Blaise quoted. "My parents are a little less influential than the Malfoys, and they trained me to always know what the other side was thinking. It makes sense, so I still do it."

--------------------------

Standing outside Dumbledore's office, Ginny and Blaise were trying in vain to guess the latest candy keyword. Apparently "lollipop" no longer did the trick. Finally, Dumbledore's voice floated down from his office. "It's 'pickled popping pustules.'"

The passageway opened, and the two Lijanhorns plus Lijara started climbing up. Well, Ginny and Blaise walked, Lijara floated.

"Come in, come in," Dumbledore said. "I've been waiting for you."

"Alby!" Lijara cried, making her way to Dumbledore's desk. "You look…old."

"And you look as you ever have."

"You know him?" Ginny asked.

"Sort of," Lijara said, but didn't elaborate.

"So. I see the time has come for this," Dumbledore said. "As I feel that you are young adults, I will be perfectly frank with you. The balance of a great many things is hanging on your actions over the next year. There are prophesies, predictions, and problems you shall have to deal with. I fear…" He hesitated, and then continued. "I fear that the world may be asking too much of you. Ginny, the weight shall be especially heavy on you as, willing or not, you shall be at the center of this, with two others. There will be tough choices this year, tough choices for every member of Lijanhorn. I will be here to help as much as I can, but there is only so much I can do." He sighed. "Every year, the sacrifices that must be made grow greater. All we can do is hope for a brighter tomorrow."

"Sir?" Ginny was confused.

"Just an old man's ramblings. Pay it no mind." Dumbledore shook his head. "A few words of advice. Never turn your back on a Quintaped. Forgo judgement for love. The past will never go anywhere. Truth can be found in the most unlikely of places. And, above all, _nothing is what it appears to be_."

Everyone was silent for a moment. "Sir, we'll do our best," Blaise said earnestly.

"I know you will," Dumbledore said. "Now, is there anything else?"

"Not that I can think of," Ginny said.

My door is always open, for whatever meager guidance I may provide." The headmaster smiled. "Now, I believe it is nearly time for lunch."


	8. Blaise Zabini

**Disclaimer**: Three years later, still not JKR. Alas.

The second meal at their new table was fairly nerve-racking for Ginny. Despite her general self-confidence, sitting alone—_nearly alone_, she corrected herself—knowing that she was the absolute center of almost everyone in the hall's attention, was not a pleasant sensation.

"Maybe we can just eat up in the dormitories for a while?" she said to Blaise after the umpteenth group of underclassmen exited the Great Hall with hushed voices and "subtle" glances in their direction.

"Nah. We won't do anything to unite the school if we hide from them all the time. Let 'em stare. And about that…how're we supposed to go about uniting the school, anyways? Won't you get just a little bit tired if you go about uniting the entire school in the same manner as me? Not that I'm complaining…" Blaise trailed off as the characteristic Slytherin smirk played across his features.

Only the slightest bit of color reached Ginny's cheeks before she replied, "Oh, I figured we could make pretty good time of it. After all, we'd have to split the duties on the first few, but after that, I think the students would start _uniting_ themselves."

"Touché. But seriously. Do you have any ideas?"

"Not really," Ginny admitted. "And inducting you was completely spur-of-the-moment. I probably should have put some thought into it, but…I guess it was just intuition."

"Or may-"

"I think," Ginny interrupted whatever angelic statement was about to come out of his mouth, "we should do some more research. Channel our inner Hermione, y'know?"

"Um…" He shook himself a little. "Sorry, I've just never thought of myself as having an 'inner Hermione.' Research does sound like a good idea…but more research? We haven't done _any_."

"Oh, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I checked out the library yesterday. Didn't turn up anything. I have a couple ideas of other places to look though. And I hadn't met Lijara then, so she'll be a help when it comes to tracking down the right books in the library. One of my ideas will have to wait for the first Hogsmeade trip though."

"Fair enough. When did you want to start?"

She made a face. "I'm sure it isn't the most responsible approach…but not today. Tomorrow I'm free after lunch."

"Same, since the new professor cancelled classes for the week."

"You're still taking Care of Magical Creatures?!"

"I know it doesn't fit the 'Big Bad Slytherin' image, but yeah. You want to go to the library with Lijara then?"

"Sure. And you aren't a Slytherin anymore. Oh crap." Ginny glanced around the nearly empty Great Hall. "I have class now…actually, with you. I was moved up." She answered Blaise's unspoken question. She grabbed her stuff and they headed off to class. On the way, it occurred to her that her early exit from the welcome feast had left her out of the loop. "Sotelus still teaching?"

"Yeah. I think he's broken the curse, as it were. How'd you get moved up?"

"I just…did. I guess a combination of the DA and outside studying. I wasn't exactly expecting it."

"Cool."

They slid into seats at the back of the room just as Professor Sotelus rapped the board with his wand. "G'day mates. This year'll be the hardest yet. Some of this year's coursework was not met with enthusiasm by all of the staff, but I'm teachin' it anyways." Two sentences from the Australian wizard rekindled Ginny's desire to move to Australia in hopes of tracking down a beachy blond wizard of her own. "However, we won't be doing any of that t'day. I am required to start with a lecture on the additional risks you will encounter this year. So…"

His third sentence lost Ginny in a daydream on a beach where everyone had the perfect accent._It doesn't help that Professor Sotelus was far from old_, she thought dreamily. _But why go find someone else when I've got tall, dark, and handsome in my bed_… She started back to full consciousness at that thought, and discovered Blaise staring at her.

"Dream of me, darling?" He whispered, "I know you denied it earlier, but you let the cutest little moan escape from your lips just now."

He dragged his fingertips up her arm and she shivered, already bright red. She took a few deep breaths, and glared at him.

Not at all affected by the full force of a Weasley woman's gaze, he raised an eyebrow. "I am formally rescinding my agreement this morning. Even though my agreement was never formally given, per se…it was more of you misinterpreting a slight inclination of my head." The Slytherin smirk again.

"…You can't do that," was all she could come up with. Not the most convincing retort. Class ended at that point, and Ginny jumped out of her seat and left in a hurry. After she had put enough distance between herself and Blaise, she turned in the direction of the Gryffindor common room, only to remember that she wasn't in that House anymore. And the House she was in had only one other member. One problem of another member. She slumped down against the wall and sighed.

_This summer was one thing. It was all in good fun…but this is school! I can't just fuck around without consequences. Ron is here! There is no way I could keep coming up with excuses like this morning…besides, I don't really like Zabini. Not _that_ way. He's just bloody hot. And damn good with his tongue…NO. NONONO. _She pressed her fingers to her temples and tried to block out memories of the night's antics to no avail. _Fuuuck. Right now we have our own private room; what more could I ask for? It's not like Ron can prove we're fucking with Harry's map. And he can't rule my life anyways. Why do I feel like my life in the summer and my life at school have to be separate? Do I really have to give up on fun for three-quarters of the year? …What's the worst that could happen?_

"Hello there," Blaise said as he slid down the wall to sit next to her.

"How did you find me?"

"I asked the portraits," he said reasonably. "Still dreaming about me?"

Instead of turning red, as she was wont to do, Ginny gave him a shrewd look. "You don't want some deep relationship, do you?"

Blaise looked flustered. "Look, Ginny, I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong idea last night…I just thought we were on the same page…I mean-"

"Good." This time, it was Ginny who smirked. "Then I formally rescind _my_ agreement this morning. I don't, either. I've just…never done something like that at school."

Blaise, composure regained, nodded. He stood up, and pulled Ginny up with him. He eyed her for a moment. "Oh? Have you ever done something like this," he leaned in and started sliding his hand up her shirt as he placed kisses up her neck, "in a open hallway," his lips captured hers for a minute, "while the rest of the school is at dinner?"

Initially resistant at the thought of getting caught, Ginny got caught up in the thrill of the moment as Blaise slid her shirt off and pushed her against the wall. She got him out of his shirt a little while later, and pulled him into the small alcove to their right. "Open hallway—is a little—exposed—for anything—e-else," Ginny managed to get out.

"I _love _your thinking," Blaise said, disengaging his tongue from Ginny's. "Y'know," he said in a conversational tone as he undid his belt, "skirts are a wonderful thing…"

-------------------------

"I'm hungry," Ginny said plaintively as they made their way back to their dormitory.

"That's what you get for skipping dinner to satisfy a different kind of hunger."

"I didn't _plan_ to skip dinner." She tried to glare at him, but ended up giggling. "C'mon, we're stopping by the kitchens."

After requesting that food be brought to their dorm, Ginny and Blaise headed to their new, empty common room. The portrait guarding the room was, oddly enough, that of a puppy. A small yellow Labrador- completely nonmagical, but adorable. It also explained the current password of "rawhide." Ginny halted right inside the doorway, puzzled. "This looks kind of like the Gryffindor common room."

"Hmm…seems fair. Didn't you notice it looked like the Slytherin one yesterday?"

"Not really," Ginny admitted. "I was a little stressed. And then distracted. And now…I'm starving!" She leapt towards the table on which food had just materialized. "Let's eat!"

After both had scarfed down sufficient food, Ginny spoke up. "Hard to believe this is only the second day of school. Hell, I've really only known _you_ two days."

"Mmm…I wonder what you're like after I've known you for a week." Blaise closed his eyes and leaned back, rather than pursue his teasing of her. After a while, he spoke again, "Something tells me this year isn't going to be like the rest. Last one, though." He lapsed into silence again. "Eh, that's too much to think about for right now. So…tell me what happened over the summer, Miss Ginny?"

"What do you mean?"

"You've always been hot, no denying that. But you've always had such a…" He searched for the word. "Pure? Righteous? A…good girl vibe. You were untouchable last year, and I _know_ guys were after you."

Ginny flinched, and then smiled. "I hung out with Charlie for the summer. On the basis of an internship. I think Charlie wanted me ready for the real world, away from the sheltering of my pack of guardians. It was his own way of protecting me." She skimmed over some of the details. "We played with dangerous animals during the day, and were animals at night. Not Charlie and I! Ew," Ginny said at the look from Blaise. "He had some pretty hot dragon-trainer friends. It was…an experience. I think we reinvented the phrase 'drunken debauchery.'"

"I thought the Weasel seemed more keyed up this morning than usual. I take it he wasn't thrilled with the, ah, new you?"

"Not terribly. He called me a slut right before we left for school. He also tried to destroy all of my clothing that he deemed 'inappropriate,' which turned out to mean anything inappropriate for a nun. Mum wasn't too happy about that. Hermione's got him mostly under control here, I think."

"Are they…a couple?"

"Ron and Hermione? No, not yet. It's ridiculous. Completely and utterly ridiculous, especially since everyone else in the world can see they'll end up together. Now, my turn with the questions. Why did you abandon your parents' way of thinking?"

"I told you. Draco did, beginning of last year."

"That's not _why_, that's _who_. I want to know why."

"I've never been comfortable with my parents, and other Death Eaters, lifestyle. Slytherins, we're supposed to be in it for ourselves. And yes, I know I'm not a Slytherin anymore," he said before Ginny could correct him yet again. "And not all Death Eaters are from Slytherin. I _know._ Following the Dark Lord isn't being in it for yourself, it's being someone else's slave. And the things they do? It's…horrible. I know that isn't all that good of an explanation, but Draco's better with the deep stuff than I am. I just want my own life, and it sucks that I can't have it."

"Yo-"

"I get it! It's not as simple as 'not being a Slytherin.' My parents will kill me if they get the chance. Draco's parents will kill me. Pansy's parents will kill me. Hell, Pansy's parents would kill Pansy if they knew we were still friends…luckily those sorts of things don't leak back to them as much. My parents decided so much of my fate before I was conceived, let alone born." He sighed. "And they decided it again, when they remained loyal to the Dark Lord.

Neither said anything for a while. Ginny tried to understand the concept of a family in which the parents would kill their children, under any circumstance, and failed miserably. Life in the Burrow did not sync with Blaise's home life.

"I could do with some stress relief now," Blaise murmured after a good deal of time had passed. "I'm really not good with the deep stuff." He stood up and yawned exaggeratedly. "I'm beat. I'm going to bed…care to join me?"

Ginny looked at his proffered hand, and laughed before accepting. To talk about things like that, and then this? If he was anything at all, Blaise Zabini was resilient.

**A/N**: So, there you have it. After an inexpicable three-year hiatus, and even more inexplicable return, I give you...an update. Reviews are nice, but you knew that.


	9. Change

"Friday-Friday-Friday!" Ginny chanted at dinner. "I love Fridays. Do you know _why_ I love Fridays?"

"Because you'll have enough time to get a head start on next week's homework? At least, that why I take pleasure in my Friday evenings." Blaise nodded solemnly. The two were seated at the Slytherin table amidst mostly 7th years of that house. "Tonight I intend to write my three-foot essay for Charms. Professor Flitwick said it only had to be two feet long, but _of course_ I cannot restrain myself to that."

Pansy, closest to Blaise, slapped him lightly. "Careful with that, or that _is_ what you'll end up doing tonight."

Blaise just grinned. "Why, it isn't like there's anything exciting going on…" He knew better, of course, but he had discovered that provoking Ginny was like a game. A really fun, potentially dangerous game.

"Hey! You said it was a good idea! In fact, I do believe you helped with…procurement. 'Sides, the common room looks like it was made for parties." It was true. After the tumultuous first two days of school, Lijanhorn's common room had settled into it's own identity. The smile had vanished off of Ginny's face, and she was looking at Blaise dangerously.

"Hey! All in good fun," he held his hands up in mock-surrender. "It's not just a good idea, it's a bloody brilliant idea. Nothing unites people like a party. Did you talk to your brother yet?"

Ginny's smiled. "It went smashingly. I told him he could come, and I might even let him drink if he played nice with the rest of the kids. Oh…and that if he did one tiny little thing to annoy, disrespect, control, or otherwise irritate me, I was throwing him out and calling Fred and George. I think we came to an understanding."

"You won't even need to call them, I can just bash his head in for you," Blaise said.

"Thank you, but hopefully unnecessary."

Dinner ended uneventfully, Blaise standing first. "Well, former Housemates-of-mine, we should get going. Lots of stuff to get ready, you see. We'll see you tonight."

"Lots of stuff to get ready my ass," Ginny heard Pansy mutter as the pair walked out of the Great Hall. However, Blaise hadn't been lying this time. When they reached their dorm, Ginny couldn't help but smile when they entered the common room. Even though it had been the same for the past few days, it was still impressive. The room was naturally divided into sections, while remaining one large open space. The front half— or, at least, the part closer to the door— had a few small round tables, with two chairs each, scattered in front of a bar, for lack of a better word. The counter had been stocked with a few snacks on the top shelf and potion supplies and cauldrons on the rest, but Ginny and Blaise had restocked with every liquor imaginable, shoving all of the previously neatly arranged supplies onto the lowest shelf. The counter itself was a deep blue with silver speckles, same as the tables. The floor was a hard material that Ginny could not identify. Seamless, smooth, swirled with shades of gray, the floor gradually darkened as it approached the other half of the room, where a thick black carpet covered the floor. Several leather couches were spread in front of a very impressive fireplace, littered with purple-red and blue pillows, several blankets tossed in for good measure. A table in the middle was made of the same material as the rest of the tables, but only rose about a foot off of the floor.

The two got to work immediately, Blaise charming balls of light to float around the high ceiling, providing the perfect level of light, while Ginny fought with the speakers Hermione had given her upon learning of their efforts. She'd been a little surprised that the Head Girl was aiding, let alone condoning, the party, but Hermione had shrugged and said, "there's a war going on outside these walls. I think unity inside, whatever the means, is very important." The two cleared the tables from the front portion of the room in order to make room for dancing, and then set off to make themselves ready for the party.

Ginny found Lijara seated at a small table in their bedroom— technically Ginny's room, Blaise's was down the hall— and asked the miniature woman for the thousandth time if she thought the party was a good idea.

"Ginny, yes, yes, again, yes! What do I need to say to get you to believe me?"

"It's just…are you sure we shouldn't be doing research instead?" Ginny asked. "I mean, I think the party'll be fun, but will it really accomplish anything?"

Lijara crossed her arms over her chest. "When I told you that you needed to give up on the library because there simply isn't any information there, I meant it. When I told you to stop worrying so much and just focus on the first week of school, I meant it. When I said not to worry about rushing into finding more members for Lijanhorn, I meant it. When you and Blaise came up with this idea and I jumped up and down and shouted 'Brilliant!' _I meant it!_" She huffed. "Now, go make yourself pretty and enjoy the night. I'm leaving shortly so that I don't see anything I shouldn't. Have _fun!_"

With that, Lijara disappeared. Though Apparating within Hogwarts was impossible, Ginny was starting to suspect that there were lots of rules that didn't apply when it came to her two-foot tall head of house. She shrugged, and started digging through her closet. She settled on a black halter dress that cut off halfway above her knees. Nothing too short that she couldn't move in it, with a reasonable front and much lower cut back. Not quite backless, but close. She didn't feel like risking falling out of her clothes tonight. A few cosmetic spells had her hair in soft waves and her face perfectly made up. She returned to the common room to find Blaise sprawled out on a couch, and jumped on him.

"Come on, only a couple more minutes till nine," she said. The temporary password for the common room had spread like wildfire through the older students, and would start allowing people entry at nine o'clock. No one wanted to miss the first party of the year.

"No one's gonna be here _at_ nine." Blaise said, earning him a glare from Ginny. "Fine, fine, I'm up. Happy?"

Blaise was right, no one was there exactly at nine. Shortly thereafter, though, guests began trickling in. It seemed as if the majority of the older students at the school had come…or, the majority of three Houses. There were far fewer Gryffindors. Ginny shrugged. Their loss. She spotted one unmistakable group of Gryffindors winding their way towards her at the bar.

"Gin, this is amazing!" Harry said, loud enough to be heard over the music. The dance floor had filled up almost immediately, while the other half of the room held a few small groups of students talking. Blaise had taken up residence behind the bar, mixing drinks on demand.

"Y'think?" Ginny grinned, sipping on her margarita, which Ron's eyes were glued to. "Oh grow up, older-brother-of-mine. You want something?"

Hermione put a steadying hand on Ron's arm, who, in turn, took a few deep breaths. "Th-that would be nice."

"You two? Kay. Hey, Blaise! A round of drinks for these three, yeah?"

She chatted with the trio for a few minutes more before losing them to the dance floor. As much as she wanted to get absolutely smashed tonight, she knew she had to have enough of her wits about her to deal with any problems that might arise. So far, the Slytherins and Gryffindors were doing nothing to provoke each other. They weren't doing anything to get along, either, but she'd take peaceful coexistence in the same room as a first step. She leaned back against the wall and watched the dancers. Harry looked mildly uncomfortable as— Ginny squinted, but couldn't tell who was dancing with him in the dim light— a witch ground up against him, and she couldn't suppress a smile. Ron and Hermione were…gone already, and she immediately banished that thought from her head. She sighed, content to watch her peers from her stool at the bar.

A long while later, she glanced over at Blaise. It was getting close to one, which was when he was abandoning the bar. He had already mixed up a giant punch bowl for those that wanted to keep drinking and was locking up the liquor. "Alright you, you're coming on the dance floor with me _now_."

Blaise grinned. "Not quite." He gestured at the six shot glasses in front of him. "I've been drinking, but I am so far from done. As I remember, I didn't lose the sober coin toss. Cheers!"

Ginny glared at him as he downed the shots in rapid succession, and then squealed as he swept her into the crowd.

Later, she wasn't sure how much later, the pair collapsed onto one of the couches. The dancers were thinning rapidly, as people either left the room or claimed their own space on the couches. "What's he doing by himself?" Ginny nudged Blaise, nodding in Draco's direction, where the blond was barely visible, hidden away in the doorway that led up to their rooms.

Blaise's fingers stopped tracing along her thighs and he looked down at her. "Who knows…he's Draco."

"Hmm. I'm going to go find out." She slid out of Blaise's grasp and stood up, swaying for a second.

"Don't. It's not good to bother him when he's like that," Blaise attempted to grab her wrist, but she had already started making her way across the room, weaving around the clumps of people.

"What're you doing all alone?" Ginny sat down on the stair next to Draco, who was staring vacantly ahead. "There are plenty of pretty girls here, why aren't you with one of them?"

Silence.

"I'm not going anywhere."

Silence.

"Really, I'm not." She cocked her head at him. "Why did you turn away from the Death Eaters?"

Silence.

"Why does your House look to you for leadership so much? What happened the summer before your 6th year?"

Silence.

"I don't get it. For years, you were the bratty little aristocrat, convinced you were a million times better than everyone, all set to join the ranks of the Death Eaters. Something happened; what?"

Draco finally moved. "Whas it t'you?"

"Curiosity, I guess." Truth be told, she wasn't sure where her questions were coming from. She just had the sense that there was something very important about the Malfoy seated next to her. The way his House followed him was one hint, and the way she had _sensed_ a change in him back in her fifth year was another. But she couldn't attribute it solely to that, because she felt driven to ask these questions, a feeling far stronger than mere curiosity.

He turned to look at her, and Ginny was shocked at how…_dead_ he looked. "I'm drunk," he announced.

"I know…" Ginny hesitated. He was very drunk. And very un-Malfoy in behavior, though she supposed that was one reason she was there.

"I've never told anyone, what makes y'think you're special?"

"…I…" This time, the silence was on Ginny's end.

"Jus' 'cause you've got some fancy mission to unite the school doesn' mean you hafta get in ev'ryone's business." Draco nodded, agreeing with himself.

"Something happened to you. I can see it in your eyes, in the way you carry yourself. I want to understand what made you change. More than that, I want to understand why people change. Not just you. I think…I think it's important for me to know." She laughed self-deprecatingly. "I don't know what I'm babbling about re-"

"Lucius killed my mother." He said it so quietly she could barely hear him, all traces of alcohol vanishing from his voice. "He killed her in front of me. Said she was weak. Said she disrespected him." He looked down. "He didn't even use the killing curse; he—he…" He shuddered, trailing off. When he spoke again, his voice was rough. "So, littlest Weasley, you wished to know what makes people change? Seeing your family destroyed by the taint of the Dark Lord will do it, as will seeing the depravity your own father has deep within his soul. She- I've seen him do others before, but what makes a husband…they were in love, you know. Once. I was forced to confront the fact that there is something wrong, something very, very _wrong_ with my father. With Voldemort. With the others…" His eyes lost their focus. "I could ignore it. Say they had it coming, or they weren't worth it. When I say wrong, I don't mean Dark. I mean…fuck, I don't know what I mean. Fuck."

Ginny released the breath she didn't even know she had been holding. Her mind was reeling as she studied the boy beside her. Distantly, she thought that boy wasn't the right word, but he seemed too young to be a man. She tried to imagine a situation where her father could kill her mother, but the thought was far too alien. She had no idea what to say, but Malfoy spoke again.

"Lovely, hmm? All that changed was that I was forced to see what had always been in front of my eyes."

"What…what happened after?" Ginny found her voice.

"What do you think happened next?" He returned, looking at her intently. When she didn't speak, he answered her question. "I killed him. Not then; right before school started. I had to."

Rather than protest that he had a choice, Ginny nodded. Technically, he _did_ have a choice, but Ginny knew on some instinctual level that he had to kill his father if he ever wanted to be free of him. A thought occurred to her. "But it hasn't been in the papers! Surely I would have heard…"

"I learned to forge my father's signature when I was thirteen," he said tonelessly, "Not with a pen, with a wand. For all business purposes, he's alive. And the Dark Lord wouldn't want to go around announcing one of his inner circle was dead unnecessarily. Bad press, y'know?" He laughed, the alcohol reclaiming him. "Delightful chatting wi' you, baby Weasley." Some of the life finally returned to his eyes as he tapped her on the nose. "I shoul' get back to Slytherin…ev'ryone's gone." He stood up, swerving unsteadily as he turned to face her. "G'nigh'," he said, and left through the portrait.

Ginny sat on the stairs for a while longer, trying to digest what she had heard. She knew it had been important for her to hear, but she wasn't sure why, and that bothered her. She stood slowly and took the few steps back to the common room. Draco had been right; everyone was gone. And Blaise was passed out on one of the couches. All told, the place was surprisingly clean. Sure, there was a spill or two, and a couple glasses that hadn't made it back to the bar, but she had been expecting far worse. With a few muttered "scourgify" spells, she left the furniture as it was to deal with tomorrow and headed to bed.

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**A/N**: I have no idea why anyone has decided to read this…I probably would have taken one look at the gap in dates and gone to find a more reliable author (preferably one with a completed story, too.) But thank you! PS, can we all have a huge laugh at the fact that an Ariana was revealed to be a member of the Dumbledore family in DH when (granted, four years ago) I had adamantly said she wasn't a relative. Haha. Wonder if I'll change that/if it's relevant. Still amusing.

**GoodGirlzDead** - I agree. Well, kind of. A fifth house is such a complete alteration to everything, but hopefully by the time I get through the "deeper" stuff it will be more…palatable? As for another hiatus, I won't make any promises because I _definitely_ do not have the track record for it, but I don't plan on it. And thank you about Dumbledore, really. I agree…many people lose his…charm, I guess. Ellusiveness? Maybe I shouldn't try and describe it. I'm just glad I managed to capture any of it (although now I'll be paranoid about any other scenes he's in…) **miss devil's kiss** - To answer your, and probably anyone else who found this under D/G's, question…Um, patience is a virtue? I know that, whether you look at is as four years of nine chapters, this story is very slow in getting to the romance. However, it is important to the plot that things happen in a certain order. This is _not_ going to be along the lines of "Malfoy you're insufferable" "Weasley you are below me" - smirk - more smirks - random run ins - likely detention/tutoring/tutoring as detention - they realize they, gasp, like each other. But hey, they talked in this chapter?


End file.
